Pokémon Reset Bloodlines: Oak & Hastings Gaiden
by Viroro-kun
Summary: Spin-off of PRB. Professor Oak and Professor Hastings, the two most brilliant minds of the Trainer and Ranger Nations, and friends in spite of the endless hostilities between their homes. How did this friendship bloom? And how did they manage to improve the world and pacify all wild Pokémon? [Sequel to Agatha & Sam Gaiden. Knowledge of it is not essential, but highly reccomended]
1. Chapter 1

_"How long did it take to become the best trainer in history?"_

 _The question had been almost sudden, coming from the young Sam's mouth as he contemplated the moonlit sky above Pallet Town. His grandfather, a quite well-built brown-haired man with a rugged beard, just chuckled out with his Charizard at his question, before he ruffled his grandson's hair playfully._

 _"You're letting that chitchat get to you again? They call me the greatest Pokémon Master to have ever lived and other stuff like that, but it's nothing but hyperbole. I merely did what was expected of me." He underscored his words with another laugh, his Charizard nodding along._

 _"But the town is named after you! And you raised so many Pokémon! And defeat everyone you fight! And-"_

 _The youth continued to list all of the old man's many proud achievements, gesturing wildly and praising him to high heaven on the way. The old man allowed him to continue talking until he stopped, wheezing and panting but still so very excited. Pallet just shrugged, eyes back on the houses at the foot of the tall hill, pride in his eyes._

 _"I sure didn't ask them to do that. I was partial to Blank Town, myself." His expression turned more serious as he faced his grandson again. "I only wanted to be strong enough to protect others. I didn't set off to be the best or anything like that. All the adventure and fun on the way was a nice little bonus, but my main drive was always to help others. The smiles on everyone's face are the only reward I need."_

 _The boy's eyes lit up, fists pumped as he continued to stare at his grandfather. He asked him many questions throughout the years, from tales of his adventures to his thoughts on everything, but hearing him talk of what brought him to be as great as he was always filled him with pride and admiration._

 _Pallet Oak had gone from being a no-name poor boy from a backwater town to one of the finest Champions the world had ever seen, no matter what he said. And for the young Sammy, that made him the most awesome person he had ever seen._

 _"You're amazing, grandpa!" He said with a toothy grin, punching the starry sky with enthusiasm. "I hope to be just like you in the future!"_

 _"And you will, for sure! You're an Oak after all, and we always win when we put our minds on it." His grandfather grinned, standing up proudly and pointing to the heavens himself._

 _"Carve your path towards the future, and make sure it's a good one!"_

 _His own Charizard underscored his words with a powerful roar and a bright Flamethrower, all while Oak smiled at the stars above. Once he grew up, he would become the greatest trainer of all time, even stronger than his grandfather, growing strong exactly like he did, and no one would be able to defeat him or his team._

 _And one day, everyone would know of Sammy Oak's exploits._

* * *

"Samuel? You still with us?"

Sam's eyes snapped open, his vision flaring up for a second before the vastness of the ocean filled it, no noise around him but the boat cutting through the waves and a few Wingull flying overhead. The young adult rubbed the tiredness off his eyes as he stood back up and stretched his limbs. He turned towards his side, finding the familiar mustachioed and black-haired visage of one of his oldest friends, staring at him in concern.

Sam nodded, letting out a lighthearted chuckle. "Sorry, Adalbert. I guess I just dozed off here."

Adalbert Hastings glared his way, to which Sam could just give him a sheepish grin. It was no time to rest up like that, but after several hours of cruising he couldn't help but feel tired. It was at times like these that he wished to have even half of his friend's energy.

"Please tell me you aren't getting a sunstroke. You're one of our last hopes here, Sammy."

The familiar mocking tone and the light cackle was enough to make Sam roll his eyes and groan, and then it was his turn to shoot an annoyed glance at the blonde woman on the deck, all while the Gengar at her side giggled at their expense.

Sam folded his arms, unamused. "My skin's pretty tough, Agatha. You know that very well."

Agatha let out a mirthless laugh and gave him an unimpressed glance, but Sam could tell it was all an act. He had known Agatha Grimm for more than a decade, and there was a mutual respect between them they both appreciated by now. With all they went through, there was no reason they wouldn't.

"That's good to know." Adalbert walked closer, arms folded and facing the horizon, and the small patch of land that was starting to be visible there. "Faraway Island has been largely unexplored due to the strong Pokémon roaming around the place, and we can't afford to hesitate or make any mistakes."

Sam, Agatha and her Gengar did the same just observing the island ahead, their ultimate destination. They all held solemn gazes, considering Adalbert's words and what laid ahead.

Samuel sighed, head shaking. "I'm aware, Adalbert. But it's also where we'll find the last ingredient we need for our formula. At worst, we'll be in for an impromptu test run of Project Coexistence."

Under normal circumstances, Adalbert would've probably chided him as a joke and Agatha would've snarked about the project's name some more, but they all remained silent and contemplative instead, with Adalbert only affording a nervous chuckle.

It was then that the man at the helm, looking remarkably like a more casually dressed and slightly older Adalbert, turned to look at them with a concerned scowl.

"Y'all are madmen, ya know." His gaze shifted to Faraway Island ahead. "Bargin' into that territory is somethin' no Ranger or Trainer with their heads screwed tight would do."

"We're scientists, brother. We take actions people deem 'insane' for a living." Adalbert pulled off a smile at that.

The scientist and his sibling locked gazes for just a bit, enough for the ship captain to shake his head and roll his eyes. "Stuff like this is why I prefer hangin' in little old Oblivia, ya know."

"Don't worry, Booker, you can stay behind. You were the only one I could trust with this secret that knew how to man a ship."

Booker nodded, going back to the controls without a word. Sam wasn't sure what the exact relationship with the Hastings brothers was right now, but at the very least, Booker seemed willing to help them out, and he would always be grateful to him for that.

"Ship guy's right to an extent, though. This _is_ pretty out there, even for people like us." Agatha stepped in, frowning at the two scientists.

Samuel just stared through her in response. "You and your brother know full well how this is needed, Agatha."

He didn't mean anything bad by that, but it still led to Agatha and her Gengar to grow quiet and turn away. Samuel sighed, his eyes also going back to the sea. Even more than ten years later, the experience in the Drowning Woods was hard to forget about, how her brother Tony ended up a victim of the resident Ghost-types and turned into one of them. He had become a pretty strong Gengar by now and was still more than a bit friendly, but that didn't mean his loss of humanity was simply brushed over and forgotten about.

If there was some silver lining to those events, it was that it allowed Sam and Agatha to move past their petty rivalry and turn into closer friends, ones that weren't afraid to joke and put down the other but were always there to help each other, which was why Agatha had so readily accepted to help them in their expedition, even with the world in the middle of a war and her own commitments as the Viridian Gym Leader. They would need to fight on the way to their goal, and she was the best trainer he could trust.

Sure, he was no slouch either, but he had pretty much turned his back on training as his main priority, and as a Ranger Nation denizen Hastings had no Pokémon with him. Science were their main pursuit, and it had been Oak's main thrust to make the world better ever since that fateful time in the Drowning Woods, when he saw first-hand the dangers Pokémon could pose.

It was odd to realize how much his life had deviated from how what his goal used to be, so many years later. It was easy to say it was all thanks to that horrible experience he had with Agatha, but he probably really started to change his mindset when he first met Adalbert in Alola, almost a lifetime ago...

* * *

 _Samuel was taking some tentative steps forward behind the other boy, one resembling a tanner and blonder version of him, leading him further inside the thick and shadowy forest. Beyond their steps, his companion's excited giggles and the occasional Pokémon cry in the distance, everything around them was almost uncomfortably silent._

 _"Are you sure about this, Samson?" he asked, gaze shifting left and right as they walked further in._

 _Samson turned back to him with a bright and comforting smile. "Don't be scared, Samuel! I know Melemele like the back of my hand, after all. Don't you want to see Tapu Koko's secret training spot?"_

 _"Well, sure-"_

 _"Then let's go! It's gonna be In-Cradily-ble!"_

 _Samuel tried not to cringe as Samson followed the atrocious pun with a Cradily imitation. Luckily for him, it didn't take long for his exuberant Alolan cousin to lead him on a large, far more well-lit clearning, the sun shining high above them. Samson seemed even giddier than usual as he ran to the center and looked around, all while Samuel kept an inquisitive eye for his surroundings._

 _"So... Tapu Koko comes here to train, you say?" Samuel asked._

 _"Yes! I saw it, and it's so cool!" Samson jumped on his feet, wildly gesticulating and punching the air to underscore his words. "It was all swoosh! And punch! And boom! And then he Leaf-eon Pokémon standing!"_

 _Ignoring the latest pun and imitation, Samuel's gaze turned to the surrounding grass and trees, only now noticing the several gashes and scorching marks littering them, like a miniature thunderstorm had unleashed its wrath on the clearing. By what he knew of Alola's traditions and tales, that definitely sounded like something Tapu Koko could cause._

 _A little grin formed on Samuel's face. The Alolan guardian deities were among the strongest Pokémon known to man, and Tapu Koko in particular was always eager to pick fights with worthy opponents. He couldn't help but fantasize on facing the legendary with his starter Pokémon once he came of age, doing his all to defeat the Pokémon in a glorious duel just like his grandfather would have done._

 _Right then, however, a sound of snapped twigs grabbed the Oak's cousins attention, freezing both in place. The sounds didn't stop, growing closer and louder by the second._

 _"What's that?" Samuel stepped back, gulping._

 _Samson, instead, just pumped his fists and beamed. "It must be Tapu Koko! This is our Chansey to meet it!"_

 _"That doesn't sound like-"_

 _"Hello, Tapu Koko! Don't be Shaymin! We're just here to see how cool you are!" Samson yelled, hands cupped around his mouth. Samuel's eye twitched just a bit at that._

 _And then the origin of the sound came closer, and closer, until it smashed a tree clean on the ground. And then, a rather large pink and black bear Pokémon became visible, the species' usual neutral stare replaced by an angry one towards those who stepped in its territory. That was enough for both Oaks' faces to lose all color, slowly stepping back as the Bewear approached._

 _"That doesn't look like Tapu Koko to me..." Samuel gulped again._

 _Samson kept up a sheepish grin, sweat dropping from his face. "W-well, then, there's only one thing to do now."_

 _The cousins turned and nodded at once. And then, they both turned around and rushed back the way they came._

 _"Let's run!" they yelled together._

 _The boys rushed through the forest path, with the Bewear in hot pursuit and destroying any tree on its path. Samuel didn't think of how stupid they had been to come there without telling anyone or how Samson really believed Tapu Koko would've just appeared there without prompting, eyes on the blurring scenery around him, heart thumping against his ribcage as his legs ran faster than ever, the way out looking closer and closer-_

 _And then Samson's foot hit a rock, and Samuel's cousin tripped on the dirt._

 _"Oof!" he winced in pain, holding his leg._

 _"Samson!"_

 _Samuel stopped and turned back to Samson, seeing the bruise on his knee and his cousin's pained expression. He tried to help him stand, only for him to realize the Bewear was catching up, mere feet away from them, too quick to run away from it or help Samson out._

 _The Kantonian boy grimaced, but then his gaze steeled, staring down the incoming Pokémon. Pallet Oak would've never backed down even in the face of danger, and he couldn't be any less than him._

 _And thus, he stretched his arms to the side and continued to glare at Bewear. "Come on, here! I'm gonna take you down myself!"_

 _The Bewear didn't seem scared; if anything, it seemed angrier than before, making a beeline for Samuel. The boy tried to pull a brave face, but his attempts cracked more and more as the angry Bewear came closer, preparing a swing, until the boy could only close and divert his eyes before the inevitable, fear overtaking him._

 _But the blow never came._

 _"Stop!"_

 _The new voice made Samuel open his eyes cautiously, enough to see the Bewear stuck in place, and what looked like a spinning top swirling all around it. The Pokémon stared at it for all of three seconds before he stepped over it; however, he then immediately winced, as if a sudden migraine had hit it. The Pokémon groaned and left the way it came, seemingly abandoning all ill intention. All the while, Samuel and the rising Samson blinked in confusion._

 _And then, the voice came up again._

 _"Hm, the Capture Loopy-Looper still needs a lot of work, it seems..."_

 _Both Oaks turned to the side, seeing another boy making his way hastily through the trees to gather the shards of the spinning top. He looked roughly their age, with uncombed black hair and a frown on his face. His clothes resembled the style of Alola's typical wear, yet were unlike any Samuel had seen in its vacation there. Samuel tilted his head in curiosity._

 _"Are you two alright?" The boy turned to them, lingering a bit more on Samson and his injuries._

 _As he finally stood, Samson touched his knee and nodded. "Uhm, yes, thanks."_

 _"Who are you?" Samuel asked, as the boy placed the remains of the top in a little bag._

 _The boy turned to them, just as inquisitive. "Adalbert Hastings. And you are...?"_

 _"I'm Samuel Oak, this guy here is my cousin Samson."_

 _Adalbert smiled at the two. "Nice to meet you. I apologize for barging in, but it sure seemed like you could've used some help."_

 _"What was that? Are you an inventor or something?" Samuel asked, eyes shifting to the bag._

 _Adalbert clutched it tightly in response. "Something like that. It's a bit of a school project."_

 _"I don't think I ever saw you around here." Samson rubbed his chin in thought, squinting at the black-haired boy._

 _"I'm not from Alola, my family's here on vacation right now and I came along with them." Adalbert gave a quick look at the sun ahead, and then to the way back. "Speaking of, I should get back to them. Make sure to not enrage any other Bewear, alright?"_

 _Adalbert didn't even wait to dash away, as fast as he came, leaving Samuel and Samson alone and confused about what had just happened. After a while, the two decided to finally go back to their families, receiving a good scolding for going to such a dangerous place without telling anyone and being told to never do that again unless they had a Pokémon with them or something._

 _But even after the fact, Samuel couldn't stop thinking about that Hastings kid. He chickened out right when he needed to be brave, but that kid acted at the right time, saving him and his cousin with whatever that spinning top did to the Bewear. There were so many questions he got from that short meeting, ones he really wanted answered._

 _And thus, Samuel resolved to try to meet that boy again._

* * *

 _After what he and Samson pulled by sneaking away, Samuel's parents made sure that he couldn't move freely for the following days, ensuring he spent all his time either at their Hau'oli home or in their field of vision. As a result, the little Samuel ended up bored to no end between playing tabletop games with his parents or Samson and hearing endless discussions from television and other adults about tensions with the Ranger nations rising, war brewing with them and other boring stuff. The young boy didn't care that much to hear about those every day, but if war could put a stop to that talk, then they should've just gone with it already and stop making everything into 'Ranger this, ranger that'._

 _With not much time to play, Samuel continued to think about that Adalbert guy he met. He really wanted to at the very least thank him, and maybe talk with him, after their brief meeting, a desire that only increased with all the boredom he had to withstand._

 _And thus, while his parents were resting up, Samuel decided to sneak out of their house and back where he met Adalbert, hoping to find him again._

 _As he stepped on the dirt path, taking care not to go out of line or making too much noise in case the Bewear was still around, Samuel tried to keep an ear out for any strange sounds, eyes shifting left and right._

 _And then, he finally caught a whirling sound, soft but continuous, with a quiet thump at the end. Samuel tiptoed that way, taking care to remain hidden between some bushes and small trees, and he finally saw him: Adalbert, frowning and staring at his little spinning top after pressing a button over it, taking a few steps away from the object as it started spinning, fists clenched._

 _"Come on, come on..." the black-haired boy muttered, grimacing._

 _The top spun some more, over and over... and then it suddenly halted, rolling to a stop on the ground. Adalbert shook his head with a frown, and then went to pick his device back up._

 _"Not good, the Capture Loopy-Looper will never work like this. What am I doing wrong?" he muttered to himself, staring at it._

 _Samuel continued to observe him, trying to understand what the boy was doing. In his eagerness he moved some tree branches a bit harshly, and they snapped right after. Samuel froze, and Adalbert stood to attention, quickly hiding the device on his side._

 _"Who's there?" Adalbert asked, a frown on his face._

 _Samuel gulped, and then took a deep breath. He stepped out of the bush and came in full view, rubbing his neck with unease as he did so._

 _The other boy squinted his eyes in a quizzical look. "Oh, you're... Samuel, right?"_

 _"Yeah." Samuel rubbed his neck, his feet shifting on the sand and his eyes turning away from Adalbert. "Sorry to startle you, I... just wanted to meet you again, is all, and thank you for the other day."_

 _The other kid shrugged. "Well, you're welcome."_

 _Silence fell between the two, and Adalbert continued to stare at Samuel with a skeptical look, keeping to himself. Samuel gave an uneasy grin, not liking the awkwardness in the slightest._

 _He gulped, and his gaze fell on the patched up device in Adalbert's hands. "So... you're still working on your top?"_

 _"It's not a 'top', it's the Capture Loopy-Looper." Adalbert's scowl fiercened, hiding the device behind his back. He turned back to it, opening it and tinkering with its components. "It's still in its early stages, but if this works well, it will be able to help people pacify wild Pokémon easily."_

 _"Wouldn't a Poké Ball pretty much do the same job?"_

 _Adalbert made a face for all of a second, and then shook his head. "It might appear similar, but it would work differently. It'd focus more on sharing one's feelings with wild Pokémon, ensuring they'd not be aggressive. It'd help make the world less dangerous, pretty much."_

 _Samuel paused, eyes back on Adalbert's creation, the boy's declaration playing over his brain. Throughout his young life, he got to hear and see for himself how dangerous Pokémon could be: even something as small as a Rattata, or as cuddly as that Bewear, could and would attack any trespassing human if they didn't know what they were doing. Nobody could afford to take things easy with the world as it was now. He always saw Pokémon as creatures to respect and to an extent fear if you couldn't tame or capture them, but pacifying them... was it even possible?_

 _"You can really do that?" he asked, taking a step forward._

 _Adalbert sighed, glaring at the spinning top. "Well, I would, if this thing worked... I can't get it to stay in movement for too long."_

 _Samuel remained thoughtful, looking at that item. He squinted, and then crossed his arms._

 _"Uhm... can I see it?"_

 _Adalbert stared at Sam again, still clutching at his creation. After a while, however, he sighed and handed it over, allowing Sam to truly analyze it._

 _It was certainly worn-out, repaired as best as it could be after being smashed over and over, cracks and patched up pieces on every side of it. It really seemed like a project the boy was putting all of his passion on, a dream he wanted to see real one day. It was almost like clutching at his desires, in a sense, and Samuel could feel Adalbert's drive poured on every piece of the Capture Loopy-Looper._

 _"Hmm..." Samuel continued to turn around the top, opening and closing it. And then he beamed, tapping at the iron tip on its underside. "Oh, now I get it. This part is too long and worn out, it can't sustain the weight appropriately."_

 _"Seriously?" The boy grabbed the Capture Loopy-Looper back, observing it again, in particular the slightly inched out and tarnished iron piece on the bottom. He then stroked his chin, deep in thought. "Well, it could be a few millimeters shorter. Let's try..."_

 _Grabbing a little tool box, Adalbert quickly removed the faulty piece and replaced it with a slightly shorter one, then placed it on the ground and activated it once more, taking his distance as it started to rotate. The two boys' eyes remained glued to the device as it spun, fast, faster, and then slower. And then it stood, perfectly upright, and still spinning like it should have._

 _"It works! Yes!" Adalbert beamed, throwing both fists to the sky. Samuel just smiled, observing Adalbert's device with some pride of his own. Adalbert then turned back to him, his expression softer._

 _"Thanks for the help. I was sure it was a problem of the inner workings and didn't check the base. Are you an inventor too?"_

 _Sam gave him a sheepish grin. "Not really, my dad's just a mechanic and I picked up a few things from him."_

 _"Well, you helped me solve a big problem here. I appreciate it."_

 _Sam smiled back, his eyes going back to the still spinning device. "So, does this little thing really pacify Pokémon like you said?"_

 _"In theory, it will. At least for a part of them." Adalbert went to grab the top, stopping its movement and holding it up with a prideful grin. "The Capture Loopy-Looper releases calming waves that can transfer the feelings of the user to the Pokémon, inducing them to be more docile and cooperative. So far all I've got is giving Pokémon migraines, but it's a start."_

 _"That's cool! Though, why are you doing something like this? I mean, you seem pretty young."_

 _"As I said, it's a bit of a project I'm doing for the school I study at, nothing big for now but it could lead to good things in the future. A guy named Gordor is lending me a hand, but I'm the one doing the bulk of the work."_

 _The Kantonian kid remained silent as Adalbert continued to talk, observing and tinkering with the spinning top some more. He didn't know anything about him yet, but he could very much tell how dedicated he was to that little project, working on it and trying to make it better. He could relate to such a passion, for as different as it was from his own._

 _"This all sounds so interesting," Samuel said, his grin widening some more._

 _Adalbert crooked an eyebrow at that. "Really? My family usually ignores me when I talk of it. They aren't really scientific people."_

 _"Well, wanting to find a way to make Pokémon less hostile is a fine dream." Samuel's gaze went back to the device, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "I'd love to know more."_

 _The other kid blinked at that, his forlorn expression lighting up just a bit with a small grin._

 _"That's good to know." The young scientist put the Capture Loopy-Looper aside, then turned back to Samuel with a confident gaze. "Say, you seem good at spotting things. If you really are interested in knowing more, what about helping me completing this?"_

 _The young Oak widened his eyes. "Can I?"_

 _"Absolutely! I could use an assistant. I tend to rush through things a bit too often at times." Adalbert gave a nervous chuckle at that, and then offered Samuel a hand. "So, what do you say, interested?"_

 _Samuel's smile lit up his face once more, and it didn't take long for him to shake Adalbert's hand vigorously. "For sure!"_

 _Both boys grinned at once, and with that, a friendship was born._

* * *

 _Samuel and Adalbert spent the rest of the afternoon and the early night working on the Capture Loopy-Looper, with the Kantonian boy suggesting several improvements the young scientist didn't ever think about which he gladly incorporated, fine-tuning the components as much as possible. It was hard work, with a lot of improvements that eventually had to be scrapped moments later, but both kids were having the time of their lives discussing and improving the little spinning top together, which only made them put even more effort into it._

 _And so, with the moon shining brightly overhead, Adalbert finally held the completed Capture Loopy-Looper high, a face-splitting grin on his face._

 _"And, done! The Capture Loopy-Looper Version One point Five is finished!" he said, pumping his free fist._

 _"Great! Now, all we need is to test it!" Samuel grinned as well, until he started to glance around. "Though, we'll have to find a good Pokémon for that..."_

 _"No need to worry for that." Adalbert let out an amused chuckle as he went to grab a bag under a tree, taking out several Oran and Sitrus Berries and holding them in his hand. Then, he squeezed them flat, letting the juices drip over his hands. He then cupped the top-holding hand around his mouth, and yelled at full strength. "Heeeey, wild Pokémon! Come here, we're waiting for you!"_

 _Samuel froze at that. "Wait, what are you-"_

 _"We don't have time to wait for a Pokémon to arrive, so we'll have to call them to us! Come here, everyone!"_

 _Samuel wanted to try and dissuade him from his plan, but the boy continued to shake his juice-drenched hand in the air, and quickly enough every bush ahead of the boys started to shake, with several Alolan Rattata and even a Raticate popping their heads up and sniffing the air, until they finally aimed for Adalbert with fangs glistening and a wicked, hungry grin on their faces. The young inventor gave an audacious grin, all while Samuel's face lost all color._

 _"Look out!" the Kantonian kid yelled, fear rooting him in place as the pack of wild Pokémon lunged towards Hastings._

 _"Let's begin the experiment!" Adalbert extended his baton, and then activated his device. "Capture Loopy-Looper, go!"_

 _The little top spun faster than ever towards the speeding Pokémon, the scientist kid tracing the path quickly and firmly as the Capture Loopy-Looper encircled the Pokémon one by one, tracing several loops before moving forward to the next one. A smell of burnt machinery filled the air as the device spun faster and faster, but the top never stopped in spite of it, with Adalbert never slowing down his precise and clinical motions. Slowly, each Pokémon slowed to a halt, their hungry lunging reduced to a crawl and then finally to just a few steps, until all the fearsome and dangerous rodent Pokémon simply stood ahead of Adalbert, confusion drawn on their faces, all under Sam's impressed gaze._

 _The Kantonian boy gulped, waiting for the Normal/Dark-types to start an attack they never began. "Did... did it work?"_

 _"Only one way to find out." Adalbert smirked, holding his berry-coated hand close to the rodents' faces. The several Pokémon all stared at it, hunger returning on their faces, and then they all went at it; Sam would've rushed to the rescue, if he didn't notice what was actually going on. All the Rattata and the Raticate simply lapped over the juice out of Adalbert's hands, with the boy still smiling as he rubbed the top of their heads in amusement, the rodents beaming back at him._

 _Samuel had truly no words, the scene just feeling so surreal. Even with a Poké Ball, most trainers would usually need some time to earn a Pokémon's trust, and yet Adalbert managed to calm down hungry wild Pokémon and become their friend in just a few seconds. It was a strange, yet comforting sight, one that proved how the world could indeed become better with Adalbert's little device._

 _However, the Kantonian boy still shook his head and frowned at his friend. "You shouldn't be so careless, Adalbert. You could've been hurt, or worse."_

 _"But it worked, didn't it?" His hand now juice-free, Adalbert waved the Pokémon goodbye as they scampered back. He then faced Samuel again, never losing his confident grin as he raised a finger. "Progress stops for no one, and there's no way I'm gonna slow down in my work!"_

 _Sam would've reprimanded him further, but he found it hard to do, especially with Adalbert's grin plastered over his face. He just couldn't blame him when he was so excited for his dreams, and thus simply gave him a look of reprimand and hoped that would be enough. The boy just shrugged at that, as he went to pick back up the slightly fuming and blackened Capture Loopy-Looper._

 _"Looks like the Capture Loopy-Looper still needs some work to not overheat, but this is a definite start." He turned back to Samuel, coming close to put a hand over his shoulder. "Many thanks for your help, Samuel. You've been a great assistant."_

 _At that, the concern melted away from Sam's face, instead grinning back at his new friend. "You're welcome, it was fun to work on that. Though, maybe try to think of a different name for it, 'Capture Loopy-Looper' is quite the mouthful."_

 _"You think? I wanted something short and descriptive, straight to the point, pretty much."_

 _"I mean, you use that baton piece to control it. Why not something like 'Capture Styler'?"_

 _"Hmmm, I'll think about it." The boy stared at the Capture Loopy-Looper for a little while, and then faced the Kantonian kid once more. "Though, do you think you'll manage to come here tomorrow? I'd love to work again with you."_

 _Samuel gave a sheepish grin, rubbing his neck. "Not sure, my parents will likely be angry at me for sneaking away and ground me again, and we're gonna leave Melemele soon."_

 _Adalbert frowned just a bit at that, before he sighed and shook his head. He faced his friend again, his expression still forlorn._

 _"What a shame." Adalbert managed to pull off a grin again, eyes meeting his new friend's. "Well, if I happen to be in Alola at any time in the future, you can always be sure to find me here. Whenever you happen to be in the area, feel free to drop by. What do you say?"_

 _"Sounds great." Samuel grinned back. "I look forward to our next meeting."_

 _"So do I!"_

 _And with that, both boys waved each other away, going back to their respective homes for the night._

 _That day was just the beginning of a long and fun series of collaborations: whenever either boy happened to be in Alola, they both made sure to take at least one trip to their little slice of Melemele Island, hoping to find the other there. After a while, both Samuel and Adalbert figured out how to make their schedules coincide, and through it all they managed to spend more and more time together as the years passed. They were still fleeting, brief hours where they spent more time working on Adalbert's latest invention than talking of each other, where they came from, and what were they doing now beyond minor things, but that didn't put any damper on their friendship: on the contrary, Samuel loved to share Adalbert's dream and help him make it reality, maybe even more than fighting._

 _And with that, the years passed, and Samuel and Adalbert's friendship blossomed more and more in a trusted partnership._

* * *

 _As Samuel Oak walked the familiar and well-traveled road, he couldn't stop grinning and looking at his Poké Ball, his trusty starter Charmander resting inside. Taking that trip to Alola right after his Pokémon journey began was more than a bit taxing for his wallet, but he really wanted to share such an important moment in his life with one of his biggest friends as soon as he could. Fortunately, after five or so years of knowing each other, he had a good enough idea that Adalbert would be there, and at worst he could've caught some Alolan Pokémon on the way to make up for the trip._

 _Fortunately, such an emergency plan ended up being unnecessary as he reached a familiar clearing in the forest, where his friend was testing out the Capture Styler on his lonesome, just like every other time._

 _Samuel grinned and clutched his Poké Ball tightly, then placed it back in his bag and rushed in the clearing while waving ahead._

 _"Adalbert!" he yelled. His friend was quick to stop the device and turn around, grinning and raising a hand at him._

 _"Oh, Samuel! Took you long enough!" Adalbert's grinned wide, eyes shifting back to the Styler. "I thought you wouldn't come anymore. I was just about to pack and leave."_

 _Samuel shook his head, arms folded and_

tsk _ing at the boy. "Patience is never your strong suit, as usual. How's the current version of the Capture Styler going?"_

 _"Very well, it can now capture several Pokémon in a row and mantain the transfer of feelings for a longer time, all without overheating. It still breaks a bit too easily, but that's a minor problem right now." Adalbert grabbed the device, holding it up as he checked it closely. "The Union has expressed interest in mass producing it and giving me a job as a technician for my efforts, so things are going quite smoothly."_

 _Samuel smiled at that, letting his friend continue to check his device in silence. It wasn't the first time he mentioned 'the Union' or 'the school' in vague terms, and while he never prodded him to know what they did exactly, he understood the context enough to realize it was a big deal for him. Even if he didn't understand fully, he was glad to hear Adalbert was closer to his own dreams, one way or another._

 _Adalbert, for his part, gave Samuel a genuine smile. "I wouldn't have made it without you. Thanks."_

 _"Most of the ideas are yours. I just helped out." Samuel shrugged._

 _"Don't undersell yourself." The other boy grinned, folding his arms. "Though, how about your own things? Did you do anything interesting on your end?"_

 _It was Sam's turn to grin now. "Yeah, there's something."_

 _Quickly, Samuel opened his bag again and produced his newly-minted Poké Ball, holding it skyward with an even bigger smile._

 _"Ta-dah! Here is it, my partner Pokémon!"_

 _He turned back to Adalbert, his eyes wide and pointed on Samuel's device._

 _"What?" he asked, mouth agape._

 _Samuel opened the Ball, holding the device high. "Charmander, come out!"_

 _The sphere opened up, and his little Charmander materialized in mid-air, leaping right into Samuel's arms. The young trainer hugged his Pokémon tightly, then swiftly turned back to Adalbert, the Fire-type waving at Sam's friend._

 _"He's a feisty little one, but I really wanted you to see him." Sam rubbed his Pokémon's head, eyes still on his friend. "I'm gonna become a Trainer as great as my grandfather, and... I'd really like if we could travel together, if you wanted."_

 _For his part, Adalbert continued to stare at Sam, his Charmander and especially the Poké Ball, a very odd scowl drawn on his face. One rather difficult to chalk up to surprise or jealousy._

 _"So, you're from a Trainer Nation," the young Hastings muttered, almost harshly._

 _"Yeah, it's just my cousin's family that lives here in Alola." Samuel rubbed his neck, unease crawling down his spine. "Speaking of, I don't think I ever asked you where you come from. Is it Hoenn? Or maybe Unova?"_

 _At that, Adalbert's gaze sharpened. "I come from Cocona Village, in Oblivia. And I don't think we can really travel together."_

 _The boy's answer left Samuel puzzled, trying to figure out where a region called Oblivia was. And then he froze, remembering: alongside Fiore and Almia, that was one of the 'Ranger Nations' that dominated the news every year, every day. The regions filled with people that menaced their very way of living, that wanted all of them dead, and with whom even becoming friends was pretty much forbidden._

 _And the same friend he had known for years was one of them._

 _Samuel and Adalbert could only stare at each other, electricity between them, the Trainer clutching his Charmander and the Ranger holding his Styler. No one dared to say anything, both gazes locked into attempts at understanding, with neither of the boys taking action._

 _And then, they both started to giggle at the same time, a giggle that quickly turned into chuckles and then a booming laugh shared between them._

 _Samuel wiped tears off his eyes, under Charmander's confused glance. "I can't believe it. We've known each other for years, and I always assumed you were a Trainer, too!"_

 _"And I thought you were just an Alolan from another island that didn't spend much time outdoors!" Adalbert said, holding his chest as he kept laughing._

 _The two boys continued to laugh at that crazy situation until the laughter and fun slowly subsided, with the calm returning and the awkwardness coming back to the fore. Both Sam and Adalbert averted their eyes, gulping almost in sync, and a heavy silence fell around them._

 _Samuel was the first to talk, shaking his head. "So... I guess our friendship's over now."_

 _"Why would it have to be?" Adalbert crooked an eyebrow._

 _Sam sighed with a heavy frown. "Well, we're on opposite sides, right?"_

 _"We're also kids, and uninvolved in any war effort." Adalbert's frown and uncertainty gave way to one of his trademark grins. "I probably can't set foot in a Trainer Nation, but that's never been a problem here in Alola."_

 _Samuel let that sink in, and a brief smile of his own lit up his face. It didn't completely remove all the tension around them, but it was still good to know that his friend wasn't hating him on sight. The young scientist's grin widened, walking closer to the Kantonian kid._

 _"That, and I always had questions to ask a Trainer if I ever saw one." Adalbert's grin turned just a bit more serious, his gaze fixed on Sam's Poké Ball. "Like, why do you keep Pokémon in Poké Balls? Like, isn't befriending enough? Why do you need to keep them shackled to you?"_

 _Samuel held his Charmander tight once more, smiling at his Fire-type. "We grow and learn from each other, simple as that. Most trainers bond with their Pokémon either before or after capture, and if they don't things usually end badly for them. The Poké Ball is... a promise, you could say, to stick around together. How can you Rangers just befriend Pokémon? What if you lose them among wild ones, or get separated with no way of ever meeting them again?"_

 _"Parting and meeting new people is just a fact of life, and that goes for Pokémon too." Adalbert gave a shrug. "If one truly loves Pokémon, they should treat them as equals, something a Poké Ball doesn't imply."_

 _"The Poké Balls can also be easily destroyed from the outside and have a release function. If we really didn't care how Pokémon felt, we would keep them in cages or shackled as a norm, something I'm sure happens in the Ranger Nations too."_

 _"It's a good point, but I still feel the Poké Ball implies a subordination, like the friendship isn't pure. It subjugates a Pokémon to the Trainer's whims, and if the Trainer isn't a good person, then the Pokémon is at risk."_

 _"I don't question that, but that's just a result of human nature, not really a fault of the Poké Ball itself."_

 _That was just the beginning of a quite lenghty discussion, covering every single angle the two boys could think about of the Trainer-Ranger divide. In spite of that, though, the questions and debate continued to stay calm, a silent agreement forming between the two: Samuel and Adalbert truly wanted to understand the other side, not hating it, and thus they continued to discuss, both holding their convictions firm as they gave their arguments and counterarguments._

 _The boys continued, learning and understanding, until the discussion finally started to go back in circles, both boys having exhausted their arguments._

 _"Well, it looks like we'll never agree here," Adalbert eventually said, sighing and raising both arms with a happy smirk._

 _Samuel agreed, letting Charmander down and allowing him to play some before he faced his friend again. "I can see your points, but I really feel it's more human nature that's at fault, over the Poké Ball."_

 _"And I see yours, but I feel without the Poké Ball, there would be one less temptation people could abuse, and I'm not gonna change my mind."_

 _"Neither will I. My Charmander's staying in his Ball."_

 _Adalbert's smirk widened, eyes falling back to Charmander running left and right. "You're a good guy, I can trust he'll be fine."_

 _Both boys allowed themselves to chuckle together, all the worry and tension gone as they faced each other._

 _Then, Adalbert's eyes went to the sky. "I liked this, though. Hearing different perspectives can truly widen your horizons."_

 _"Same. I thought Rangers were just the boring people in the news constantly trying to plot bad things." Samuel rubbed his neck._

 _"They say similar things about Trainers in the Ranger Union, too. I even sorta believed them."_

 _Silence fell again between the two, faint traces of the previous worry still lingering above them. And then, Adalbert sighed and shook his head. "If you don't want to help me anymore with the Capture Styler, I'll understand."_

 _"Not at all, I love working together with you." Samuel grinned back at him._

 _Adalbert stared at him, a frown on his face. "I'm quite sure helping to create stuff for Ranger usage is some sort of treason."_

 _"I'm not doing that. I'm just lending a hand to a good friend."_

 _The young Hastings couldn't help but laugh again at that. "You're something else, Samuel."_

 _"I'm sure you would do the same for me," the young Oak said._

 _Adalbert nodded. "I always will."_

 _And with that, Adalbert glanced back to the Capture Styler in his hand, placing it on the ground and giving Sam a knowing glance. "Let's get to work, then."_

 _"Gladly!" Samuel pulled off a mock military salute, and then joined his friend in their newest experiment._

 _And with that, both boys went back to work, their friendship only strengthened by their divide._

* * *

 _"Hey, Samuel! Didn't expect to see you here. On vacation already from your journey?" Adalbert asked, waving at his friend as he joined him in the clearing, the Capture Styler spinning just as usual._

 _The young Oak sighed, averting his gaze from his friend even as he raised a hand back at him. His mind was still crowded with thoughts about what happened one week earlier, and even if he wanted to meet his friend again it was hard for him to focus._

 _"You could say so," Sam said as he sat under a tree._

 _Adalbert frowned, recovering his spinning top and pacing forward to the Kantonian kid. "You don't seem to be doing well. Something happened?"_

 _Samuel's gaze turned back to Adalbert, only for him to shift away right after. He instinctively clenched his fists, trying to find a way to unravel his thoughts, a heavy frown on his face._

 _"It's complicated. Me and my rival Agatha ended up in a place called the Drowning Woods, and..." Sam paused, rubbing his forehead as he leaned over the tree's trunk more. He grimaced and shook his head. "Sorry."_

 _"Hey, take it easy." His Oblivian friend kneeled at his height, "What was it? Some wild Pokémon attacked you or something?"_

 _Samuel gave a curt nod. "Ghost-types. They got her brother. He's fine, but... different."_

 _He turned away from his friend, going from the grass to the trees to the sky above, memories of that night flashing by in quick succession. Adalbert, for his part, lowered his head wordlessly._

 _"I'm sorry to hear this," Adalbert said._

 _Sam acknowledged that with a nod; he couldn't know what actually happened, but the Kantonian boy still appreciated his concern. Samuel's gaze went back to his left hand, clenching and unclenching it rhythmically as he contemplated it._

 _"I never felt so powerless." He balled his hands in a fist, fingers digging into his palms. "I still want to become strong, but doing just that seems... pointless now."_

 _He unclenched his fist, trying to not drown in the sea of thoughts, his mind filled with concepts but hollow of resolve. He adjusted his seat, and then he saw Adalbert sitting by his side, arms folded._

 _"What do you feel you should do, then?" The other kid asked._

 _Even in his confusion, Samuel's gaze steeled. His mind was drowning in thoughts and guilt filled his form, but even then, his newfound purpose was clear._

 _"I want to make sure no one ends up like Agatha's brother did. No one should suffer a terrible fate just for the whims of a Pokémon." Sam's gaze was firm and narrowed as he placed a hand over his chest. "I want... no, I need to change the world, make Pokémon more peaceful."_

 _The Oblivian's gaze sharpened at that. "Do you think you can do it?"_

 _Another pause, and Oak turned away. His hands went to his forehead, massaging it as he exhaled, trying and failing to think of the answer. "I have no idea. I know some stuff, I'm decent at mechanics, but trying to change the world sounds too big for me. But I promised, so..._

 _"I don't know."_

 _Sam hung his head down, eyes closed. He didn't know what to say or think anymore, the weight of his future plans heavier than it had ever been._

 _Adalbert didn't waste time to smile at him again. "You have talent, Samuel. If you really want to change the world, all you need to do is try. That's what I did."_

 _"You're a genius. I'm only good at drawing Pokémon and tinkering with some machines on the side."_

 _"And if you weren't good with machines, I would still have been here scratching my head on why the Capture Loopy-Looper didn't work as intended." Adalbert shook his head, gaze going skyward. "I know how you're feeling, 'changing the world' is one big proclamation and one you may very well fail at. I've been there, too."_

 _Sam crooked an eyebrow in response. "Seriously?"_

 _"What, do you think I'm confident all the time? I try to, but I get doubts too." Adalbert chuckled out. "If it weren't for you all those years ago, I may have given up on the Capture Styler."_

 _The boy from Pallet Town fell silent once again, staring at his friend. His Oblivian pal held the Capture Styler between them, the result of years of hard work in full display for both._

 _"And look at me now: the Union has just started making use of Capture Stylers, and thanks to that all the Ranger Nations are starting to become less dangerous. This would've never happened without you helping me first."_

 _Samuel observed the spinning top, until his cheeks flushed red in embarassment, and then he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You still put more work on the project than I did."_

 _"And you still put some work in it. That's a start, and shows you have talent. You know how the Capture Styler works, I'm sure you can create something as good as it. Perhaps even better."_

 _The Kantonian narrowed his eyes on him. "Now you're just exaggerating."_

 _"You got to be ambitious to succeed." Adalbert held a fist ahead of him. "And be ready to ask a hand when needed, to. You can always count on me here."_

 _"Thanks." Samuel smiled at his friend, the feeling of heaviness lessening just a bit._

 _"You're welcome." Adalbert's trademark grin returned again. "Let's see what a Trainer can do better than a Ranger, now."_

 _Samuel gained a grin of his own. "Are you offering to assist me, or be my rival?"_

 _"Why not both? A good competition can only help."_

 _Samuel chuckled out at that. All his worries were still there, but Adalbert sure knew how to make things better. He was glad he could count on a friend like him, Ranger or not._

 _"Very well then." Samuel pumped his fists, his stare determined. "Let's both do our best."_

 _His Ranger friend nodded with a grin of his own, and then he and the young Oak began to work together again, ready to support each other more than ever._

* * *

 _As the years passed, Samuel Oak did all he could to truly understand Pokémon and find a way to make the world more peaceful, by any means necessary._

 _And thus, he continued on his path as a trainer, fighting and winning as much as he could, trying to understand other Pokémon along the way, and sometimes drawing them for the same reason. He came to be known as one of the 'Legendary Trainers' among the public for his skills and League victories, a title he appreciated but never felt he earned: he would never be the second coming of Pallet Oak, and that was fine. His goal might've been similar, but his path was different._

 _And that was why, eventually, he retired from active battling and went into research, slowly making a name for himself in the scientific community as an expert on human and Pokémon interactions. It was a hard road to travel, but one he gladly undertook alongside his Pokémon and his friends, especially with Adalbert's insight into the Ranger nations' way of life and into the relationships formed therein. He was for the most part happy with his choices, helping out with several relocation efforts and releasing important research papers, even more so as he found love with one of his assistants and became the father of a healthy little boy._

 _And thus, in the span of eight years, a lot of things changed for Samuel, and the world changed alongside him. Unfortunately, not for the better._

 _"The latest Ranger attack ontop of Mt. Moon claimed the lives of hundreds of people-"_

 _"The Trainer-led assault of the Ranger stronghold in Vientown has been a success-"_

 _"Casualties are high, women and children-"_

 _"The Gym Leader of Viridian City lost her life in the battle of Viridian Forest, her understudy Agatha Grimm is expected to succeed her-"_

 _"Several Ranger ships were sunken in the Cianwood City siege-"_

 _Samuel turned the television off, the void black screen a welcome sight after all the atrocities he had zapped through. It was hard to believe they were in the middle of an all-out war after mere months of hostilities, yet not so surprising. The animosity between Trainers and Rangers would've exploded again eventually, but he didn't expect things to escalate so quickly._

 _It all started from an isolated accident: a group of Gyarados attacked several coastal cities, in both Trainer and Ranger nations, spurring both sides to take action until they finally cornered the group of Pokémon at the same time in neutral waters. With no higher jurisdiction to call to, both sides tried to deal with the problem the way they knew best: the Trainers wanting to catch the Pokémon and keeping them stored forever, while the Rangers wanted to lead the Pokémon somewhere safe where they wouldn't have harmed others. Both sides believed their methods were inherently superior, denouncing the opposing group's methods as brutal or ineffective. That simple incident became an outlet for decades of hatred and tensions, and at some point, shots were fired and hostilities began._

 _It was hard to pinpoint who exactly started and who was more to blame, but the result of the events was clear: both Trainer and Ranger nations put the blame squarely on the other side, and before anyone realized it, the last great Trainer-Ranger War began in earnest._

 _Samuel had always been a peaceful person, and thankfully enough his status as a researcher exempted him from joining the war effort. As much as it pained him to leave his home and friends, he wisely decided to move to Alola until the hostilities would cease with his wife and kid. Samson was more than happy to give them a place to stay: Alola, having declared itself neutral from hostilities, had become a refuge for citizens of both sides, with the local Kahunas making sure that hostility didn't come up between refugees. Fortunately, the majority didn't want to cause any trouble, and the uneasy coexistence continued unperturbed, everyone only wanting the war to be over._

 _With not much to do beyond continuing his research and following the escalating war, Samuel thought. For as much as Trainers and Rangers were both to blame for the state of things, the apple of discord still turned out to be hostile Pokémon. The ones he had sworn to pacify._

 _He couldn't blame himself for the ongoing war, but he still felt responsible for what happened. He wished he could do something to stop it, but what? It wasn't like he could drop in the middle of a battlefield and stop the fight with a few words. Even with years of research, he didn't find such an easy way to solve conflicts._

 _The man sighed, rubbing his forehead as he stared at the shut television, no solution coming to mind. And then, a series of loud beeps caught his attention._

 _He put a hand in his pocket, quickly taking out a blue-colored pager: a gift from an old friend, to make sure they could contact and prepare for their meetings better. A message popped up on the display: "Can you come to the usual place?"_

 _The researcher frowned, quickly typing a "Yes" and putting the pager aside. He then made his way out of his house with a quick farewell, then went through the familiar forest and back in their clearing. And just as he expected, a black-haired man around his age with a distinguished top hat was waiting him there, someone he knew well._

 _"Thanks for coming, Samuel," Adalbert said, more solemn than he remembered him. They hadn't seen each other for the last few months, but it was easy to understand his demeanor._

 _"It's been a while, Adalbert." Samuel walked closer to his friend, his expression still serious. "Why did you need me?"_

 _It took a few seconds for the Oblivian researcher to talk, hands in his labcoat and gaze distant. "I guess I need to talk with someone. You saw it, right?"_

 _"The way our compatriots are slaughtering each other? Yes, I did."_

 _Another pause, tension rising between the two. And then, Hastings took a deep breath, staring right at his friend._

 _"They're using the Capture Styler."_

 _Oak froze, the weight of that sentence crushing him._

 _"Wait, you mean-"_

 _Adalbert's stare turned fierce, almost disgusted as he kicked the ground. "They can take control of the local wild Pokémon populace and sic them on the opponents. Why do you think Rangers tend to attack Trainers in places teeming with wild Pokémon?"_

 _Oak thought about his friends' words. While there was always the occasional incursion towards cities and towns of strategic interest, most of the Ranger forces tended to attack in locales like forests, mountains, and often the sea, always with some Pokémon turning the tide when weaponry didn't prove to be enough. The logic was sound and it all added up, which was probably why he never wanted to make that connection._

 _He faced his friend again, an angry glare trained on him. "So you-"_

 _"No! Who do you take me for? I'm the Chief of Technology of the Ranger Union, but this decision was one I couldn't oppose in any way!" Hastings snapped, angrier than he had ever been._

 _Both researchers paused, their gazes turning astray once more. Hastings shook his head, massaging his forehead in thought. "I created the Capture Styler to promote peace, not for this..."_

 _Oak didn't know what to say, already regretting his aborted insinuation. He might not have created what ended up being a weapon, but he could very much understand the guilt his friend was feeling._

 _"I can try to leave the Ranger Union, but even if I don't support the war, the Ranger nations as a whole need my help. And if I were to leave, someone more willing to wage war could supply the Rangers with proper weaponry in addition to the Stylers, and I can't allow that." Adalbert faced his friend again, his usual energy completely gone. "I have no idea what to do now."_

 _Faced with the same question he had about himself, Oak frowned and contemplated the grass. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and there was no way for them to stop the war on their own terms; they were professors, not miracle workers. They couldn't change human nature in a heartbeat like that._

 _And then, something in his mind clicked, and an idea finally formed._

 _Sure, the main blame of the war was still on the prejudice and ideological divide between Trainers and Ranger, but the origin was still the hostility of Pokémon. And if all it took to spark a war to start was a hyper-aggressive Pokémon, that was something where they could act._

 _Maybe it wouldn't help, maybe it would somehow make things worse, but they couldn't sit around and do nothing as their brothers and sisters killed each other senselessly._

 _"The solution is one." Samuel stared back at his friend with renewed conviction. "We need a way to pacify all Pokémon."_

 _Adalbert looked back in disbelief, shaking his head. "We've been working on that for years, Samuel."_

 _"But never together, really putting half and half of the work." Samuel managed to grin at the future prospects. "Modesty aside, we're among the most suited minds for the job. You created a device that can calm Pokémon down, and I'm an expert of Pokémon and human interactions. If someone can make it, it's us."_

 _The Kantonian researcher extended his hand to his colleague, more confident than ever. "Do you want to accomplish the impossible with me?"_

 _Hastings considered his hand for a bit longer than necessary, his expression shifting from worry to the same hopeful and determined grin his friend shared._

 _"Gladly," he said, shaking Oak's hand._

 _And with that, their most important research began._

* * *

 _Samuel and Adalbert had everything going against them as they started their project: they were alone, had no budget to speak of, and had to make sure no one caught on about their meetings and their little plan. It was particularly hard for Hastings, as he constantly needed to excuse frequent trips to Alola and to make sure his bodyguards didn't catch on to his real interests, but even Samuel needed to keep up appearences in front of his scientific peers, and had his family to think about. As a result they only had brief, fleeting moments where they could actually work together, making an already complex effort even more difficult._

 _But they were both smart, used to work in secret, and stubborn and crafty as they could be. And for Oak's part, his cousin Samson was more than happy to look after his son whenever he needed some time, to the point he started claiming he'd like to open up a school in the future._

 _And so, even with all those obstacles, the research they codenamed 'Project Coexistence' truly began._

 _"The key of this is your Capture Styler," Samuel said; he and Adalbert were sitting on the table of his work shack in the middle of the forest, away from any prying eyes, with the Kantonian researcher tapping on Hastings' spinning top._

 _Adalbert played with his mustache, looking at his device. "You mean the transfer of feelings to pacify Pokémon? It's a good idea, but my device was made to only affect a few Pokémon at a time, on the spot."_

 _"We need something that does the opposite. It must affect several Pokémon at once, on a wide area."_

 _"To do that, we risk to sacrifice effectiveness for area covered, however."_

 _"That's okay, the important part is that it works. We can change the world slowly, so long as it has tangible results."_

 _Adalbert nodded, his eyes back on his creation as he tapped a finger on the table in thought. "The problem is still how to make the transfer of feelings work."_

 _Both researchers fell silent, going through several possibilities as they stared at the top. It was their first step to pass, and by far the most important._

 _Oak narrowed his eyes, stroking his chin. "Does the transfer have to be immediate? Can't it absorb the feelings of nearby trainers and Pokémon, and pass them on? Maybe even use it as an energy source?"_

 _"Hm..." Adalbert continued to observe the top. And then, an approving grin made its way on his face._

 _And with that silent cue, the two scientists took their first step in making the world a better place. It took them several months to reach a working prototype, with several mistakes, dead ends, and need to restart from scratch, all while around them the Trainer-Ranger war only grew uglier. They both tried their best to advocate for peace between Trainers and Rangers, without good results on either side._

 _But that didn't deter the two scientists, if anything it only made them even more determined. And it was through that determination that Samuel and Adalbert finally managed to create a working version if their project, powerful enough to pacify some of the local Pokémon in small numbers. It was nothing a normal Styler couldn't do and far from permanent, but at the very least it was one step made._

 _And with that, the two were ready to move on to the second step._

 _"It needs something more to it." Adalbert continued to observe the current core of their device, similar to the one that powered the Rangers' technology. "The Capture Styler works by implementing the rotation as a way to concentrate the effect, but that alone won't work like this. However, requiring constant rotation around the Pokémon would miss the point of this being an easily replicable method."_

 _Samuel scratched his head, taking another garner of the core. Even if derived partially from the Capture Styler, it wasn't meant to work exactly like one. Maybe the best course of action was to avoid emulating the way it worked wholesale, and instead try something different._

 _"Maybe the feelings transfer can work in tandem with anything else?"_

 _"What do you have in mind?"_

 _"I feel if we can strengthen the effect, we would avoid the problem we're facing right now."_

 _Adalbert's glare turned serious at that. "That risks being too powerful. We might skirt the line into full blown mind control here."_

 _Samuel sighed. Ever since the Capture Styler became known by Trainers, more than one person started to liken the practice to brainwashing Pokémon into doing one's bidding, and while he knew it wasn't the case, he could see where the accusation could come from, and how they risked exactly that._

 _He vigorously shook his head. "We can't reach that level. Wild Pokémon are still intelligent creatures for the most part, we just want them more peaceful, not controlled or losing their fighting instinct completely. Not to mention, this idea must not be weaponized."_

 _"Agreed. But this causes the risk for our project to not work as well as it could." Adalbert crossed his arms, forlorn._

 _Oak scratched his head, eyes back on their prototype as he went through their plans again. "The idea is that, by lowering aggressivity levels, the Pokémon would pass on positive behavior to the younger generations. There's the possibility that a strong willed or just stubborn Pokémon might resist the effects, but for the most part that would be the exception we can afford if it works for everyone else._

 _"We also need to ensure that the device is small, incospicuous, and most of all resilient," Adalbert said._

 _"Especially the last part." Samuel glanced at the pile of broken Capture Stylers all ammassed on the ground, a result of their experiments. "Going by the Capture Styler, a first generation affected Pokémon would pretty much return to its previous level of aggressivity once the device stopped working."_

 _"Noted. So, back on the previous topic, what kind of thing can work in tandem with the feelings?"_

 _That question promoted more silence. It needed to be something that wouldn't go against the feelings, but rather complement them. Beyond more feelings, not many other possibilities came to mind in that regard._

 _And then, Samuel snapped his fingers. "Soil."_

 _"What?" Adalbert faced him with a quizzical glance._

 _"It's something I realized while studying Pokémon: a lot of them end up having some form of familiar connection to the soil they grew up with, having a calming effect. It's used in particular by Pokémon Breeders as a way to deal with difficult Pokémon, and it's something we can employ here," Samuel said. His tone was tentative, but hopeful; when dealing with such unknown variables, every road felt like a jump in the dark._

 _"So, a form of harmless radiation based on the soil, to strengthen the effect of the feelings?" Adalbert pondered briefly his friend's suggestion. And then, he gave a nod. "It sounds unwieldly, but it's worth a try."_

 _That was enough for Samuel to grin again. "Let's attempt it, then."_

 _It took even more months of experimenting and fine tuning to make sure the radiation and feelings worked together in the correct ways. It was extremely tricky to make two completely different energy sources work together, one somewhat abstract and one very much concrete, but after several attempts the two scientists managed to find a way to emit a harmless form of radiation from the soils that could be spread on the same wavelength as the feelings transfer they were basing their idea on. They worked tirelessly to ensure that humans weren't affected, and to reach the right amount of radiation to not cause adverse effects, but they eventually made it._

 _That only left the second part of that particular step: finding the best soil or combination of soils to reach their desires result. Unfortunately, that was when Project Coexistence hit yet another brick wall._

 _Adalbert scratched his head, a deep frown on his face. "No, no, it will never work like this."_

 _Samuel observed the half-completed prototype ahead of them, several samples of different soils gathered ahead of them, some compressed together and other alone. He tapped his chin in thought, scrutinizing their discoveries so far._

 _"One kind of soil emits radiation tailored just for some specific groups of Pokémon. It's unable to keep track of migration patterns, invasive species, or trained Pokémon from foreign regions. Having each device tailored for only a select few would make the costs of production too expensive, and trying to mix up the soils would only have conflicting effects that would just defeat the point. Therefore, we need some sort of universal soil."_

 _"Does such a thing even exist?" Adalbert's look was skeptical, and for good reason: with the huge variety of Pokémon that lived in their world, it was virtually impossible to find a way to pacify all of them at once._

 _Samuel continued to think, going through the fruit of all his work. There had to be an answer to their inquiries, no matter how farfetched or difficult to achieve it would be. Now wasn't the time to be picky about their research and how to achieve it. Anything would work._

 _The Kantonian researcher squinted his eyes. "Maybe... just maybe..."_

 _"What is it?" Adalbert crooked an eyebrow, curious._

 _Oak crossed his arms, still replaying all the necessary information in his head. "Have you ever heard of Mew?"_

 _"The supposed ancestor of all Pokémon?"_

 _"Indeed. You see, according to studies, while Mew as a species has been spotted pretty much everywhere at some point, from forests to the undersides of trucks, most experts agree that its birthplace must've been somewhere in the southern hemisphere, in the thick of the jungles of Guyana... or, alternatively, a very remote isle known as Faraway Island."_

 _Adalbert nodded along, his gaze more serious. "So, your point is..."_

 _"If it's Mew's birthplace, then that island is in some way every Pokémon's birthplace." Samuel took a deep breath, pondering about how to word his next statement. And then, he stared back at Adalbert again. "The soil of Faraway Island could be able to calm down not just Mew, but every single Pokémon species at the same time."_

 _Silence fell between the two scientists, as Adalbert let Samuel's theory sink in. Samuel gulped, realizing the implications of what he just claimed._

 _"That's quite a longshot to make, and not particularly logical of you," was Adalbert harsh's reply._

 _"Pokémon defy what we assume to be logic pretty much every day. It's why they're such fascinating creatures." Samuel attempted to smile, only to quickly sigh and for him to stare at the prototype again. "But still, I acknowledge it's mostly theory, but we don't really have much of another option. We need a solution as quickly as possible, and this is our best chance."_

 _He expected Adalbert to have a retort to make, to point out how flawed and contrived his train of thought had been. He probably underestimated his friend's drive and hasty nature, as his friend quickly grinned back at him, staring at a world map attached to the house's walls._

 _"So, we're going on a trip to Faraway Island? By what I've heard, that place is not particularly welcoming. We need to be prepared," Adalbert said._

 _Samuel was just a bit surprised, but he quickly mustered the strength to smile back at his friend, filled with confidence. "I know a friend who'd definitely be onboard to help and would keep our trip and project a secret. She's one of the finest trainers I know."_

 _"And my older brother Booker is a carpenter, with some expertise in manning a ship. He can probably help us out by giving us a ride there."_

 _The main issues tackled, both researchers locked gazes once more, smiles gone and replaced by serious frowns. There was a lot at stake, for both themselves and the world at large, and they couldn't afford to mess that up in any way._

 _"We're going to do this, then. We'll go to Faraway Island, and obtain a sample of its soil," Samuel said. It still sounded like an unreal plan, but stating their intention made it seem just a bit more possible._

 _"That's a plan." Hastings agreed with a nod. "Let's do it."_

 _And with that, both men moved on to prepare for the forthcoming expedition, more determined than ever to bring their greatest research to its completion._

* * *

"Hey, Samuel, you here? We're about to arrive."

A gentle shake was enough to bring Samuel out of his reminescence and back in the presence, snapping to attention and nodding istinctively to Adalbert.

"Yes, sorry, I was just lost in thought," he said. His attention quickly shifted ahead, where the outline of a rather large, lush and green island was starting to become visible in the distance. With the current speed Booker was travelling at, they would probably take a few minutes at worst to reach it.

Samuel frowned, turning back to Agatha, Tony and then Adalbert. They all stood on the ready, mentally preparing themselves for what was to come shortly.

"At the cost of being repetitive, we need to be careful now." Adalbert put a large backpack on his shoulders, furrowing his brow towards the island. "The last step of our research awaits us there."

Now focused, Oak nodded and grabbed a backpack of his own, while Agatha prepared her own Poké Balls. None of them said a further word, for none was needed at that point.

The group remained silent until Booker finally led the ship on the island's shore, anchoring it in place and letting his brother, the trainers and the Gengar hop off on the sand. The older Hastings left the helm and turned to the quartet.

"I'll be waitin' for ya. Be careful 'round here," he said, arms folded.

Adalbert hesitated just a bit before nodding. "We will. Be prepared to depart at any time, Booker."

Booker nodded, going back to make the necessary preparations for a quick departure. And with that, Samuel and his entourage took their first steps into the unknown.

* * *

 **Hello, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the ride in this one-shot so far, a very special one for me: not only does it celebrate my second anniversary as a Reset writer much like Dude Gaiden one year ago, but it also provides an answer to one of the biggest mysteries of the setting, that being what Oak did to change the world into a better place. It was initially not planned to be revealed due to Crossoverpairinglover's fear that any explanation about it would risk to feel like the 'midichlorian' explanation of Star Wars, but after some planning and research, we managed to settle a satisfactory explanation for it which we hope worked well for all of you. The explanation for the soil actually comes from Pokémon Special/Adventures, where Emerald has a gun that uses soils as ammunition to calm Pokémon down, with him explicitly claiming that the Faraway Island soil can calm down any Pokémon. Personally, I'm rather proud of how the explanation came out, and I hope the next part of the story will answer any lingering questions one can have.**

 **Gordor is the main antagonist of the first Pokémon Ranger game, and leader of the Go-Rock Squad, who originally helped out Hastings develop the Capture Styler in canon, so I wanted to still acknowledge his role in it given it played a part in his turn to villainy. Similarly, Booker comes from the third game, Guardian Signs, and he's confirmed to be Hastings' older brother in a Ranger Quest. In canon, they had a bad argument that led to them not speaking to each other for twenty years until they reconciled, but since the expedition to Faraway Island happened roughly forty-one years from the present, said event has not happened yet in Reset, to keep track of the timeline.**

 **There were originally more flashbacks planned for this story, focusing on Oak's growth as a trainer and his understanding that research is his true calling plus his rivalry with Agatha, but I decided to excise them because they just bloated the narrative to focus on mostly linear flashbacks detailing how Oak and Hastings' friendship evolved over time, also to avoid making the events of Agatha & Sam Gaiden too much of a Continuity Lockout moment for the readers or to overexpose the Grimm siblings more than necessary. It's an important step in Oak's development, but I tried to make sure beyond knowing it was a horrible misadventure, you don't need the proper details beyond what I already know, even if I'd still reccomend reading it for the full picture.**

 **Agatha having been the Viridian Gym Leader is a reference to the AG Anime, where she temporarily fills in for Giovanni as Viridian Gym Leader, since I made her a citizen from Viridian and wanted to show a 'middle-of-the-road' Agatha between her beginning trainer days and her Elite Four member ones.** **Also, to avoid any confusion, neither Agatha nor her predecessor as Viridian Gym Leader killed anyone during the Trainer-Ranger War: they simply defended Viridian from Ranger attacks when necessary, but never took anyone's life. The war might've been horrible, but they were more a line of defense than soldiers trained to battle and kill.**

 **Given the one-shot ended out being 21k long, I opted for a staggered release, sharing the first chapter now and the second one in a few hours, to give people time to digest the story better. I hope you'll enjoy it, and look forward to share with you the second and last part of this journey!**

 **See you in a bit, then!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ever since it had been discovered, nobody ever managed to explore Faraway Island in its entirety. Many perished, and even more left as soon as they came, never revealing what they had encountered, but one thing was clear: Faraway Island was dangerous, and likely deadly. As such, the group was more than ready to fight should the need arise.

In spite of the lingering dread, Samuel couldn't deny the beauty of the island. Nature was wild and untamed all around them, a gentle breeze moving trees and bushes, all plentiful of berries. It felt like stepping somewhere time forgot, a picture of the world as it used to be long before they were born.

But the forest was also unnaturally silent, almost like no one but them was there. The quartet didn't lower their guard, with Tony in particular holding a Shadow Ball ready to be thrown.

"So, you say Pokémon life all began here?" Agatha asked, a quirked eyebrow towards the surrounding nature.

Samuel nodded, his attention completely on the path ahead. "Potentially. There are a lot of theories floating around, but what's important is that it's very likely Mew's birthplace. And if it is, and Mew is truly the ancestor of all Pokémon, then this might be exactly what we need."

"You just need some dirt, right? Can't you just pick some of this one and call it a day?" Agatha gave a light kick to the ground, disturbing some grass and uprooting some soil.

Adalbert and Samuel both scrutinized the terrain, and were quick to shake their heads.

"I can tell from a glance that this isn't what we're looking for." Samuel turned back, towards the thicket of trees growing denser in the distance. "We need to find the exact spot of this Island that Mew calls home. Nothing else would do."

"Easier said than done, when no one has ever managed to map out the entirety of this jungle so far," Adalbert said. Samuel failed to hide a grimace at the reminder.

Agatha rolled her eyes, grumbling. "Of course. Asking for a quick and easy trip would've been too much."

Samuel shook his head, clearing his mind of all thoughts. "Let's keep our guard up. We don't know what we might find here," he then said, with all his comrades nodding an affirmative.

The group continued to walk forward, the trees becoming more and more numerous until they started to form a veritable forest around them. Through their march, they were still accompanied by no sound but their own thoughts. The stillness of their surroundings lasted long enough for the dread to morph into an almost pleasant calmness, almost instilling hope that maybe Faraway Island wasn't as dangerous as they thought.

And then Tony tensed up in place, quickly shifting his gaze around, his Shadow Ball growing larger.

"What's wrong, Tony?" Agatha asked, eyes narrowed on her surroundings.

Her brother didn't answer, his guard still up. And then, he turned around and tossed the Shadow Ball right at a tree.

The wood splintered and shattered in several chunks, falling apart and crashing down in just a few seconds, rising a cloud of dust. Nothing ensued, and for a second Samuel wished his old friend was just being paranoid.

And then a slashing sound came, and another tree fell apart, cleanly sliced in half. The quartet's attention turned there, and when the culprit came out, none of them knew what to say.

Ahead of them stood a brown, armored Pokémon with sharp scythes for arms, a vicious stare trained of them. It was a Pokémon none directly saw before, but they all knew what it was. A Pokémon that shouldn't have existed.

Tony took a battle stance as Agatha stepped back. "Is that-"

"A Kabutops. A living one." Samuel bit his lip, drops of sweats forming on his face.

As if one thought-extinct Pokémon weren't enough, from behind the greenery surrounding them came several other creatures, among them an Omastar, an Armaldo, a Tyrantrum, an Archeops, a Tirtouga, a Rampardos, and many other Pokémon from all the known regions. Before they realized it, they were stuck in the middle of several Pokémon, all of them ones that shouldn't have existed, all of them blocking their path, and all of them staring at them as if they were the most delicious meal of all.

Even with the shock, the humans were quick to act: Agatha produced nine Poké Balls from her bag as Tony stared down their opponents, Samuel held one old Ball of his own, and Adalbert readied a Capture Styler.

"How are those still alive? They should've gone extinct!" Agatha narrowed her eyes, fingers ready to open the Balls' twist caps.

"Let's think of that when we aren't surrounded, alright?" Samuel gulped, eyes on the ancient predators as they tentatively stepped ahead.

"I'll try to deal with them now." Adalbert frowned, pointing his device ahead. "Capture Styler, go!"

The Oblivian researcher sent the spinning top on the ground, and he quickly directed it to close circles around the Kabutops and his allies.

Adalbert spun his baton in the air as fast as he could, the Styler growing faster with each motion, closing one, two, three loops around several of the living fossils. It seemed to be going well, perfectly even- until the Kabutops knocked the Styler off track with the flat of his blade. Before his friend could put the Styler back in motion, a stomp from Tyrantrum shattered it in a million little pieces.

Adalbert went wide-eyed in shock, as did the others, and the Kabutops took that moment to leap on the offensive, scythe ready to pierce through the researcher.

And that was when Samuel scowled, tossing his own Ball. "Charizard, Blast Burn!"

The old Ball opened skyward, his oldest partner bursting out with a mighty roar. He then flew straight for the ground, punching it powerfully; shockwaves and flames both travelled underground, all zoning in on Kabutops. The fossil tried to stop, only for the flames to engulf it and sending it writhing on the ground.

Charizard took a deep breath as he slowly recharged his energies, only for a potent Hydro Pump to blast him groundward. The Fire-type tried to get back on its feet, only for several of the fossils to gang up on him and force him on the ground, clawing, biting and blasting at him mercilessly as Samuel's starter tried to break free, to no avail.

Samuel remained still, too in shock to order anything as his starter was continuously brutalized. He had seen more than his fair share of powerful and violent Pokémon in his time as a trainer, but the sheer glee and power these Pokémon displayed in trying to tear his Pokémon apart was something that he truly never saw before.

Nonetheless, Samuel frowned and pointed at his enemies. "Charizard, use-"

The Kantonian researcher ducked suddenly as a Hyper Beam flew over his head, annihilating several trees and rocks behind him. He then had to jump out of the way of a slice from another Kabutops, all while Charizard tried to blast away all the Pokémon keeping him pinned down to no avail. More and more Pokémon started to rush right at them, without giving them even a second to gather their thoughts and plan a counteroffensive.

Samuel still tried, only for one of the Kabutops to knock him down on the dirt and hold it there. The ancient Pokémon's stare bore into him, and it was only then that Samuel could see their assailants' eyes.

What he found was a piercing, cold, wicked stare, not unlike the one the denizens of the Drowning Woods held. But Samuel could notice one difference: those Ghosts-types were intelligent and aware of what they caused, to an almost human level.

These living fossils weren't like that. There was no trace of intelligence in their eyes: it was all pure, feral instinct.

They were hunters, and they were their preys.

And as he realized that, Samuel could only stare in utter fear as the Kabutops held his blade high for the killing blow. And then, it went down.

"Tony, Mean Look!"

The Kabutops' blade froze in mid-air, and so did the rest of his body, his eyes showing surprise and confusion. Samuel blinked, and then realized that all the wild Pokémon that attacked them were in the same condition. It was at that point that he noticed Tony jumping off a pile of Omastar, wearing a prideful little grin. Both Samuel and Adalbert were caught off guard at the turn, even as they slowly broke free from their Pokémon's grasp, and Samuel could see that his Charizard was doing the same, his body filled with scratches, bruises and blood from the assault.

And then, Agatha stepped in, glaring at the two men of science and at the feral Pokémon.

"This won't last forever. You go find your stupid dirt, I'll hold the line here." She held her Poké Ball high, as if to punctuate her statement.

Samuel frowned. "Agatha, it's dangerous-"

"And I'm the Gym Leader of Viridian City." All nine Poké Balls opened at once, revealing Agatha's Arbok, Crobat, Mismagius, and several others of her strongest team. She then gave the two men her back, as Tony joined her side. "We can do this. Go!"

Samuel would've really liked to dissuade her from that idea, until he noticed that the wild Pokémon were all starting to move again ever-so-slightly, with Tony leading the charge of Agatha's Pokémon with a barrage of Shadow Balls as he and his sister started fighting before they could return the favor.

Seeing that, Samuel could only give the Grimm siblings a silent nod of encouragement and recall his Charizard, before locking gazes with Adalbert and nod at once with him. And with that, he and his Oblivian friend rushed away from the forest just as Agatha's battle truly started, right towards the heart of Faraway Island.

* * *

Samuel and Adalbert continued to run through the ever-denser forest, trying their best to avoid falling into the rather steep descent right at their left, which was proving difficult as everything was a blur as they ran. Silence had returned, but after the previous ambush neither researcher was willing to lower their guard again.

After several minutes, Adalbert turned around, still not stopping as he frowned behind him. "What was with those Pokémon? They shouldn't exist today, and they were just so-"

"I have a theory." Samuel squinted his eyes, deep in thought. "Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon, right? Maybe all the other Pokémon of this place descend directly from it. They are just like the first Pokémon that ever walked the Earth, with the aggressivity and hunter mentality of that time. Pokémon as they originally were, pretty much."

Adalbert didn't respond to his friend's musing, but his grimace and worried stare was enough to answer Samuel. It wasn't a theory corroborated by much evidence, but with so much about Mew still unknown, he couldn't rule out such a possibility from being real. And even if that wasn't true, that still wouldn't change how the Pokémon around them were the worst of the worst, the most aggressive Pokémon they could ever meet. A far cry from an angry Bewear chasing two stupid kids.

Samuel briefly contemplated letting his Charizard out again, until he remembered all the ugly bruises and injuries he got from their opponents. He was probably far from being in top shape, and he couldn't risk his life on a gamble against other powerful Pokémon. If they hadn't rushed their expedition to Faraway Island to complete their research, he could've probably afforded to retrain some of his other Pokémon and not be stuck with almost zero options.

The Kantonian's eyes lingered on his friend, fists clenched and grimace still on his face. The tension between them was palpable and obvious, but even with all the worry of the world they knew they couldn't afford to waste time. Not now.

And when the two heard a noise of rustling grass, they stopped dead on their tracks. As quite a few Tyrantrum and some other living fossils surrounded them, both researchers couldn't help but grimace.

Samuel in particular tensed up, staring blankly as one of the Tyrantrum slowly paced towards them. He balled his fists; if his grandfather had been there, he would've found a way to defeat or subdue them all and continue on his path undeterred. He wouldn't have been cornered like that, or felt so powerless and useless.

The Kantonian researcher gulped, turning back at his nearby friend. It was only then that he realized how distant Adalbert's gaze was, as if his mind was elsewhere even with all the strong Pokémon surrounding them.

Before he could ask him what was going on, the Oblivian man sighed, placing a hand inside his backpack.

"Guess there's no other way here." His gaze shifted to Samuel, nudging him ahead. "Go on, Samuel. I'll deal with these guys."

Samuel didn't understand, until he saw his old friend grabbing several berries in his hands, among them several Oran and Sitrus, squeezing them until the juice coated them. Samuel froze, memories flooding by, all while Adalbert stared down the Pokémon ahead of him.

"If you're so hungry, come and get me!" he yelled, waving his juice-drenched arms to grab their attention.

The ancient Pokémon sniffed the air, their attention driven on Adalbert. They bared their fangs and rushed towards him, ready to bite and maul him as the Oblivian remained still.

Samuel clenched his fists and acted on istinct, tackling Adalbert and sending both rolling down the steep incline right in time.

The world spun around the two as they rolled down the small hill, with Samuel pushing Adalbert further down. He could hear the wild Pokémon crash into each other and starting to fight, tearing and slashing at each other, their roars of power and agony sending chills down his spine.

He didn't know how long they rolled down until their backs met a large rock, breaking their descent. Samuel could still hear the Pokémon fighting and tearing each other apart in the distance, and thus raised a finger at his friend to keep quiet, burying his hand in the dirt to mask the juice's smell.

After what felt like an eternity waiting, the Pokémon's cries grew more distant, slowly fading away. Whether they left or they had killed each other was a question Samuel preferred not to linger on.

The researcher sighed in relief, and then stared back at his friend.

"What were you trying to do?" Oak's stare was firm, hands clasped on Adalbert's wrists.

Adalbert averted his gaze from Samuel, frowning. "Grab their attention and allow you to go past them, of course."

"And why did you have to use that berry trick again? You could've just thrown it away. You made yourself the target."

"And I would've deserved it!" Adalbert's stare was back on him, piercing through Sam's own. "Several people died because of the Capture Styler, there's no way I'll ever atone for any of them. The Ranger nations will probably get a better Chief of Technology that reflects what they actually want, and you don't need me to complete our research. If my life can have any use, that was one if them!"

Adalbert's stare only grew harsher as he continued, breathing harshly as he finished. Samuel didn't know what to tell him, until he noticed his eyes: he held the same lost and solemn gaze he saw years before, when they met at the start of the war, a gaze he usually hid under a lot of drive and determination. Were the Rangers' actions too much for him to bear? Did he always plan to get himself killed on the mission? Samuel couldn't tell, but his answer was immediate as he stared down his friend.

"What are you even talking about? We're here to help the whole world, and that includes the Ranger nations. They can't afford to lose one of their most brilliant minds!" His expression turned even harsher, inching closer to Adalbert's face. "And I don't want to lose a friend, either!"

Adalbert blinked in confusion, eyes locked into his friend's again. "Sam..."

"If you really feel the need to atone, even if you didn't kill anyone by your hand, then you must live. Be better. Help others do the same. And little by little, make the world a better place. Dying won't do anything but make things worse." Samuel let go of his friend's arms, offering him a hand. "You're better than this, Adalbert. Don't make these hasty decisions again."

Adalbert fell silent, his eyes wide as he contemplated Samuel's hand. Several conflicting emotions seemed to swirl inside him, as if he didn't know what to say. Sam continued to keep his hand outstretched, hoping he'd take it.

And then, a look of guilt in his face, Adalbert grasped the Kantonian's hand with his own. "Thank you. I don't know what got into me."

"Guilt can hang heavy on people. I know that for a fact," Sam said, helping his friend stand. They shared a brief smile, but they quickly understood that wasn't time for pleasantries. They could sort out any lingering issues afterwards.

Adalbert adjusted his own backpack, frowning once more. "We can think of that later. Right now, we need to understand where we are and-"

 _Meeeeeee!  
_  
A high-pitched, almost playful cry filled the forest, bringing both researchers back to attention.

"What was that?" Adalbert asked.

Samuel furrowed his brow, pointing at a path behind them. "I don't know, but it came from there."

His Oblivian friend turned the same way, staring at the small path leading further into the dark forest. He and Samuel traded a quick nod, the only decision they could take clear. And so, with no further words, the researchers made their way further in, hoping for no other ancient Pokémon to come at them.

Fortunately, none ambushed them on the way, and after a brief walk the thicket of trees opened up in a beautiful, small clearing, with several cattails popping out among the blades of grass. With the sun shining high and framing the small garden in light, the place gave out an almost ethereal sense of beauty, like somewhere no humans had ever set foot until then. Some sort of forbidden sanctuary, maybe even something those ancient Pokémon were trying to protect.

"Incredible... this place feels completely different than the rest of the island," Samuel said, taking a gander of his surroundings with great curiosity.

Adalbert continued to frown, his attention shifting to the grass below. "Do you think this is...?"

"It might be. Only one way to find out." Samuel kneeled towards the ground, placing a hand over the grass and pulling at it.

And then fell on his back as a concentrated blast of psychic energy almost hit him. Samuel froze, fear crawling under his skin as he turned his gaze up, Adalbert doing the same at his side.

In any other occasion, Oak and Hastings would've been overjoyed to see the pink, almost feline floating creature mere feet away from them. A Pokémon so elusive many had thought of it as nothing but a mirage.

But with the angry stare that all but asked what were some intruders doing in the middle of his home, neither of the researchers was particularly willing to express their awe at the Mew. Even moreso as its eyes glowed a faint blue, psychic energy gathering around the Mythical Pokémon.

Adalbert gulped, cold sweat running down his face. "I doubt it has taken us in sympathy here."

Samuel didn't reply, his gaze fixated on the hostile Mew. He couldn't even recognize which attacks it was using against them, but one thing was clear: the Pokémon was truly as powerful as the legends claimed it to be, and they would be completely outmatched even if they had usable Pokémon or Capture Styler. And even if they could face it, nothing guaranteed Mew would yield, either. If only he had been Pallet Oak, none of that would've-

At that point, Samuel clenched his fists, his mind clearing. He couldn't keep comparing himself to his grandfather: as much as he respected him, it wasn't Pallet Oak that was facing Mew, it was _Samuel_ Oak, and he needed to solve that situation in a way only he could, without resorting to strength. Maybe it would've failed, or lead to nothing, but did they really have anything to lose at that point?

And with that, Samuel exhaled, trying to calm himself down as he stepped forward.

"Hey, I know we just barged in your home, but-"

A bolt of psychic energy almost pierced through Samuel, forcing the Kantonian to raise his hands up. "Please, stop! I just want to talk!"

Mew still didn't say anything, whether because it was incapable of speaking human tongue or because it didn't want to dignify them with talk Samuel didn't know, but as the Mew continued to float ahead without trying to attack again, Samuel decided to take his chances. He attempted to think of what to say, only to give up with a sigh midway through. He looked back at the Mythical, and steadied himself.

"We understand, we invaded your home out of nowhere, and you probably think we want to capture you. It makes sense for you to be so wary." He placed a hand over his heart, his stare serious. "But we truly mean no harm to you. We just need a bit of the soil here, to make the world safer for everyone. I can understand if you don't care for humans, but this is very important for us. We aren't going to try to capture or harm your home in any way, and we'll never come back or reveal your location to anyone unless absolutely necessary. So please, please let us take some, even just a bit. We'll leave as soon as we get it."

Samuel joined his hands together, a pleading stare directed to the powerful Psychic-type. The Mew just floated in place, his stare still bearing on Samuel and his colleague. Several heavy seconds passed, no sound but the rustling grass filling the clearing. And then, Mew's eyes glowed again. Both Samuel and Adalbert sweated cold, and then prepared themselves for the strike.

Which was why they were surprised as the Psychic-type shifted its attention to the grass, slicing a rectangular shape on the ground and dropping a hefty chunk of dirt right between the two researchers. Both men observed it wordless, even if the meaning of the gesture was clear.

As Samuel faced the Pokémon again for answers, he just saw the Mew giving him a smile and a nod of encouragement, waving its tail and then floating out of sight with no answer to give. Samuel was alright with it, though, as he stared in the direction the Psychic-type left.

"Thank you, Mew," he said, giving the Mythical Pokémon a smile of his own.

Adalbert stared at the block of ground, and then back to his friend, chuckling happily. "Well, aren't you a master orator, Sam."

"My speech wasn't that good. I just said what I felt was needed." Samuel rubbed his neck, eyes back on the lot of dirt. "I'd say it paid off, though."

The Oblivian researcher nodded, eyeing the path they came from. "The only problem now is bringing it with us. There's a big chance we'll see other hyper-aggressive Pokémon on the way back, and they won't listen to reason."

"Indeed. That's why we need to work." Samuel grinned, ambition overflowing from him.

Adalbert understood immediately what he meant, and without a further word, he pulled out of his backpack what he needed, and started to work alongside his friend. They had some important work to do now.

* * *

Agatha Grimm was no stranger to difficult battles, but even for one of the most prominent fighters of the so-called 'Legendary Trainers' it was difficult to handle so many enemies and Pokémon at once, several of her team already recalled out of damage or exhaustion. Nonetheless, the Gym Leader of Viridian City continued to hold the line, dodging attacks towards her as Tony and her Arbok continued to fight alongside her.

"Arbok, Poison Fang!" Agatha yelled, quickly turning back to her brother. "Tony, behind you!"

A Kabutops' slash missed Tony completely as the Gengar dove into the ground, pooling into darkness and sneaking under the fossil. The younger Grimm then materialized behind him, unloading a point-blank Dazzling Gleam on the Water-type and blasting it away, right onto a pile of several other defeated fossils.

Arbok was doing just as well, quickly leaping and coiling itself around a Cradily before it sunk its purple fangs on the Grass-type's rocky flesh. The prehistoric Pokémon thrashed around, but Agatha's Pokémon never let go of its grip.

And then, several Armaldo and Archeops gathered around the Cradily, slamming bodily into the Arbok and keeping it and the Cradily crushed under their weight, seemingly uncaring for the Grass-type so long as Arbok was destroyed. Agatha flinched as her first partner screamed in pain under the Pokémon's weight, enough to recall it back in its Poké Ball, leaving Tony as her only active fighter.

The Gym Leader gave a look around the battlefield: even if they had defeated close to around a hundred fossils, more and more continued to come, as if the entire island's population was converging towards them. Her gaze turned to Tony, her little brother now reaching her side, wheezing and panting even as he tried to keep a brave face, and then to their many healthy and vicious opponents cutting away any escape route.

The older Grimm shook her head, sighing. They had almost no chance of making it.

"Well, I always knew that Sammy would be the death of me, one day." Agatha let out a bitter laugh, her gaze darkening just a bit as she glanced at her brother. "I'm sorry, Tony."

The two siblings grasped the other's hand tightly, trading a look of determination before they focused on the enemies ahead. If that was the end for them, they would've made sure it was a pretty good one at least.

Fortunately, that wasn't bound to happen.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

A powerful, searing tongue of flames cut through the air, strong and sudden enough to catch everyone's attention. Agatha and Tony also turned upward, seeing Samuel and Adalbert staring down at the fighters from a nearby vantage point. At her rival's side stood his old Charizard, way too bruised, hurt and tired to be any kind of threat.

And yet, Samuel smiled and rubbed his Pokémon's head. "Thanks, old friend. Rest well."

Her friend recalled his starter, and Agatha understood that he only did it to make everyone focus on them. Why would he do something so suicidal eluded her.

She was quick to squint, confused. "What are you-"

"Adalbert, cover my tracks!" Samuel yelled, turning to his friend.

"Alright!"

Samuel jumped down the vantage point, right in the thick of all the attacking Pokémon. Adalbert followed right in his steps, tossing several berries to the Pokémon to keep them distracted enough for his friend to move on.

Neither of the two Grimm siblings understood what exactly what the scientists were planning to do now, but she understood the gist enough to know several Pokémon all gunning for her friend wouldn't be good for his plans. She traded a glance to Tony and her brother gave her a thumbs up, focusing his stare into another Mean Look, locking the surrounding Pokémon in place just like before, enough for Sam to make his way safely next to her, a relieved smile on his face.

"Thanks, Agatha, I really needed that," Samuel said honestly, taking a deep breath and scanning the blocked crowd of Pokémon around him.

Adalbert did the same, facing his friend again and nodding. "We should be ready now."

"Alright!"

Agatha crooked an eyebrow again, while Tony tilted his head in confusion. "What's gotten into you? Why did you rush right here?"

"It's the one way back, and there's no alternate route." Placing a hand inside his backpack, her friend took out the spherical device he had worked on for so many years. "Let's just say we're gonna need an impromptu test run."

"Here?" Agatha's frown grew even more lost.

Samuel shrugged. "It's either that, or we die. And to be sure this will work, I need to be in the center of everything."

"What?"

Before Agatha could make sense of Samuel's stupid plans, a piercing cry filled the air, and all the fossil Pokémon began moving again, rushing for Samuel and starting to throw a barrage of attacks their way. All three humans moved to dodge the assault, all while Tony did his best to keep the enemies at bay. It was clear who held the advantage, however.

"It's now or never, Sam!" Adalbert yelled, avoiding a Hydro Pump from a nearby Omastar.

Without further ado, Samuel grabbed the prototype close and held it ahead of him, a determined frown on his face. "Let's go!"

Samuel pressed the one button on the device, just as all the Pokémon got ready to converge around him. A large amount of energy started to load around the prototype, all the Pokémon sensing the danger and moving closer and closer. Adalbert stood closer to their friend, ready to defend it, while the Grimm siblings did the same.

Project Coexistence's instrument started to shine. The Pokémon got closer than ever, enough to be ready to strike.

And then, a large blast of energy came from the device. It was a continuous, unstoppable flow of radiation and feelings, something the Pokémon were desperately trying to fight back, all while Sam continued to hold it high and triumphant, almost as if he was powering it up himself.

As the device stabilized, its power output decreased slowly and inexorably, until it settle on a faint, almost inaudible noise with no visible effects. Even the Pokémon stopped fighting back, simply standing in place with vacant stares, as if confused on what to do. Even Tony seemed a bit unnerved, a hand over his forehead as he groaned.

No one dared to say anything, their eyes focused on any of the prehistoric Pokémon's actions.

"Did it work...?" Agatha asked, eyes lingering on the confused form of her brother.

Neither of the researchers replied to her inquiry, still staring at their would-be attackers. Little by little, the Pokémon seemed to come to their senses, eyes back on their future preys.

And then, they just looked at them in confusion, some of them intrigued, others losing interest. None of them attacking on sight. _Pacified_.

Agatha's eyes fell on Tony, whom had a rather relaxed expression as he stretched his arms high, giving a nod to his sister to confirm he was fine.

Seeing no incoming threat, the most brilliant minds of the Trainer and Ranger nations beamed in happiness.

"Yes!" Samuel yelled, holding the working prototype even higher than before.

"It actually worked, Sam! Project Coexistence works!"

Samuel nodded, his and his friend's looks back on the fruit of years of work. "We can definitely change the world now!"

As the wild Pokémon left them alone and retreated back into Faraway Island, the Grimm siblings smiled as well. Against all odds, those two idiots really found a way to make the world a better place.

* * *

As the ship started its slow trip back to Alola and the sky started to turn crimson, Samuel and Adalbert couldn't help but keep checking and taking notes of every element of their now working prototype, just in the off case something went wrong and they had to restart everything from scratch. In the end, they managed to take with them a more than sizable part of the Faraway Island soil, enough to last them until they could find a way to replicate its effects and characteristics.

And so, the two researchers stood on a desk on the ship's deck, writing down entire parchments of notes, all while Agatha and Tony on the side watched with amusement. Even Booker, for all he was busy manning the ship, still gave an approving grin to his brother and Samuel.

"So, with this thing, you can now make sure no more problems with wild Pokémon happen?" Agatha asked, peering at the invention. Tony seemed curious to poke at it, but he refrained from doing so almost immediately.

"That'd be an exaggeration, but it's definitely gonna make life simpler for everyone in the world now, slowly but surely. Less sociopathic Pokémon and less murderous ones." Samuel's gaze turned grim for all of a second, but he quickly regained an enthusiastic grin as he nodded at the Grimm siblings. "Thanks for the help, both of you."

Agatha shook her head. "We were just here to help you fend off some Pokémon. You two are the ones that should be thanked."

Tony agreed, giving both researchers a big smile and a thumbs up. Even if he was still forced to stay a Gengar, knowing that his friend was glad for his results still gave Samuel some peace of mind.

Agatha then folded her arms, her ever-present smirk on her face. "Now you can finally reveal your project to the world, and everything will be sunshine and rainbows, right?"

At that, both Samuel and Adalbert gave pause to their writings, exchanging a few quick glances. Agatha raised an eyebrow, and Oak exhaled before he cleared his throat, shifting between his colleague and his old rival with unease.

"About that..." The Oblivian researcher nodded at him, and Samuel's expression turned serious. "Me and Hastings already agreed that his involvement would remain secret, and the specifics of Project Coexistence wouldn't be divulged."

Agatha, Tony and Booker all turned their heads at him, eyes wide in shock. Both Samuel and Adalbert shook their head; such a reaction was expected, even after all the discussions the researchers had on the topic.

"Why, exactly?" Agatha asked, her tone harsh and her eyes demanding.

"It wasn't an easy choice, trust me." Samuel rubbed the sweat off his face, gazing at the sea. "Our aim was to make the world a better place. If we were to reveal what we did, with both factions still at war, they'd just execute us for treason and never implement what we did. It'd just make all these years of work pointless."

Adalbert nodded, stroking his mustache. "I can feasibly sell Project Coexistence as a sort of 'passive Styler' as far as the Ranger Union goes to apply our research there, so I don't have any issues giving the credit to Samuel so he can help Trainer and neutral nations."

He gave his friend a healthy pat on the back. Samuel appreciated the gesture, even if he didn't feel any less guilty to take the full credit. It was necessary, but still not as ideal as could be.

Samuel still nodded on and smiled at that, a hand over his heart. "I'll make sure to play coy on the important parts. Aside from some conspiracy theories, I'm sure nothing wrong will happen once the results come in."

"So, what you did was pretty much pointless to stop the conflict." Agatha frowned, turning away from her friend.

"Not at all. Me and Adalbert can still work to implement our findings on our own when necessary, we can still partner together, and improve on our research throughout to keep our regions from experiencing further war-inducing accidents. We're just trading away a possibility we can't be sure will go well right now." Samuel placed his hands on his hips, his smile more radiant than before. "It might not be as big an effect as we could ask for, but it's gonna make things better and ensure less tragedies happen in this world. The smiles on everyone's faces is the only reward I need."

Agatha continued to stare down his friend at that, only for her to chuckle out, to everyone's surprise. She gave him a playfully dismissive wave afterwards. "You really ended up becoming just like Pallet Oak, in the end."

"I told you already, right?" Samuel laughed himself. "I'm not Pallet Oak, I'm Samuel Oak. And I made sure to keep my promise."

Agatha, Tony, Adalbert and even Booker all smiled back at him at that, all ultimately approving of everything they did. And with that knowledge and happiness with them, they all turned to the sun as it started to set on the horizon, pulling the curtain down the era of hyper-aggressive Pokémon and leading the way to a much better future.

* * *

"I just delivered the package to the Oak Peace Foundation, everything should be fine by now. I've just got a few other commitments to do now."

Samuel nodded to his friend Tracey from the other side of the screen, adjusting his seat in the middle of his Pallet Town Laboratory. "That's okay, I hope you enjoy your time in New Tork City. And thanks a lot for your help."

Tracey smiled and waved the Professor goodbye, and then turned off his videophone, leaving Oak to face the black screen. With how busy he was, it was good to know he could count on people like Tracey to help him out. A shame that he couldn't be his assistant full time.

Still, he was glad that the Decolore branch of the Oak Peace Foundation would now be able to continue their work on Project Coexistence without issue: it took way more time than he wished for to set everything up, handpick every member that joined the effort to pacify wild Pokémon, and generally ensure the organization was able to be as efficient as possible without knowing every single detail of what they had to do, but once everything was sorted out things had for the most part gone smoothly, with only occasional need for his help and input. After how hectic the first few years had been, he was glad that he could finally rest up about that particular area of his work.

As the old Professor shook his head and readied himself to resume work, however, his videophone received another incoming call. The man crooked an eyebrow, until he recognized the tune he had registered for that particular communication channel. He allowed himself a tired grin.

Hasty as ever, Samuel thought as he pressed the required buttons. Thankfully enough, he had already ensured his own study was safe from any bugs or similar devices, and most of his helpers were gone for the day.

And of course, on the other end of the call was a distinguished Professor with a mop of white hair and an impressive mustache of the same color, that still kept all the enthusiasm of his youth with him as he acknowledged his equal.

Samuel adjusted himself on his seat, nodding back at him. "Been a while, Adalbert. How is your progress going? The Decolore branch just received the parts they needed, they should return to normal progress shortly."

"Great to know. Here things are going pretty well, the Ranger Union just pulled off a massive relocation of some endangered species, and I took some time to see if they'd need to be pacified." Hastings' grin grew wider and prouder. "It looks like we won't need that, however."

Samuel sighed in relief. "Good. The more time passes, the less we need to operate on the wild Pokémon population now."

"It's nice to know how much the world has changed thanks to us, don't you think?"

Professor Oak paused, his mind wandering back to four decades before. Once they returned from the Faraway Island trip, he began to make preparations to implement their findings, trying to convince the scientific community and the government heads of the validity of his research. He got a lot of heat and was accused of bogus pseudoscience, but he had built up enough credentials to test out Project Coexistence on a small scale.

Once results came from there, most of his detractors changed their tune very quickly. The governments started to employ his research everywhere, keeping the information on what was being done classified beyond giving Oak the credit, something he was glad for as he kept the more Ranger-derived elements of the project a secret. The effort towards peace also managed to ease up some of the tensions of the Trainer-Ranger War as it neared its end, leading to an armistice and the end of the hostilities between the T.A.T.O and the Ranger Union. Things were still far from being 'better', but it was a good first step.

In the meantime, Project Coexistence's success continued to grow, allowing Oak to reach a previously unthought level of fame and prestige, enough to be able to set up the Oak Peace Foundation to make sure no one, not even he himself, could profit monetarily from it or employ it for anything other than peaceful purposes. All his scientific peers accused him of being an idiot that didn't understand what he was doing, but between what happened with Adalbert and the Capture Styler and some military men already asking if he could create something to increase aggressivity levels to use against the Rangers, he knew he made the right choice.

And with that, even with the occasional pocket of wild Pokémon that were strong willed or stubborn enough to still reject being pacified, which ironically enough included a Spearow flock right next to Pallet, the world slowly changed more and more: with each following generation of Pokémon passing on their new peaceful disposition, trainers were finally able to undertake journeys without fearing for their lives at any turn, the limit of Pokémon one could keep with themselves at any time was reduced to just six, and people and Pokémon's symbiotical relationship grew to unexpected heights, opening the door for more interactions and developments that Oak never thought to be possible.

Among the very few things that didn't change was the relationship between Trainers and Rangers, still locked into a cold war that threatened to blow up at any turn. With less wild Pokémon-related incidents the possibility of hostilities starting again was thankfully mostly low, but the possibility was still tangible almost every day.

And realizing that, Samuel shook his head. "I'm glad for what we did, but I still think we could've done better."

Adalbert didn't reply right away. Samuel figured out he probably had grown tired of his constant dissatisfaction on the matter. However, he then adjusted his coat and stared right at his friend.

"One can always do better, for sure, and do agree that I wish our regions could stop this stupid and backwards hatred for each other." His frown grew harsher, only to slowly morph into one of his trademark grins. "But still, I think we did a lot for the world. Thanks to us, being a Trainer isn't as deadly a path as it used to be, we've reached some measure of peace, and most importantly we've ensured the safety of many people for generations to come. Progress can't happen all at once, but I'd say we were the catalysts of something big."

Samuel shook his head. In the several decades since their fateful research, they had discussed the pros and cons of their approach more than once, and by now the argument felt like running in circles even if he agreed with most of it. He really couldn't say that they didn't do anything to make the world better, but there were many times in which he wondered if they should've revealed that Project Coexistence was the result of Rangers and Trainers working together.

Samuel shook his head and put those thoughts aside. Getting lost in what could've been only brought regrets, and he couldn't afford to feel that way.

"I suppose you're right." With another sigh, Samuel looked back into his friend's eyes. "Do you think we'll manage to see Trainer and Ranger reach a true peace in our lifetimes?"

"Who knows? We're already getting old. Maybe we'll play a part in reaching said peace, maybe it will all be an effort from the next generation, or the one after it. The future is tricky to judge." Adalbert shrugged, but his expression remained serene. "We live in interesting times, with the Bloodliner Baby Boom and so many changes brought forth all around us. I feel something is bound to happen, sooner or later."

Oak sighed once more, managing to pull off a smile of his own. "So, we'll just have to wait and see."

"Yeah. We can't stop the future from coming after all, and I look forward to where it will lead us."

Samuel thought about that, his eyes going back to the outside of the laboratory, where many Pokémon belonging to many different trainers spent their time together, mostly in harmony. A place like that could've never existed when he and Adalbert were young.

He laughed out at his own worries. Remembering all they managed to achieve always made him realize that Adalbert was right, for as much good they could've still done they still did more than many others in their lifetimes. Perhaps that was okay: they played their part and it was now time for the next generation to make things better, entrusting the future to then just like his grandfather did with his own.

The present was brighter than their past, and he could only hope he and Adalbert could live on to see an even brighter future ahead of them.

* * *

 **And here's it, the second and last part of Oak & Hastings Gaiden. Originally, I wasn't planning on splitting the story, but after seeing that the story ended up at 21k of lenght I preferred splitting it in two parts to be more easy to read, considering past very long one-shots didn't get much traffic. As this is a very crucial one-shot for the setting, I tried to make sure that it was as accessible as possible.**

 **I had quite a lot of fun writing this overall, and to go through the character development Oak got through his friendship with Hastings and his experiences. I was afraid the story would end up confusing since part of said development was already partially covered in Agatha & Sam Gaiden, but I like to think I managed to pull this off pretty well all things considered. As for time markers for the present day scene, it happens roughly concurrently with Tracey Interlude, which alongside Ghosts of Maiden's Peak was a one-shot I used to slowly set the building blocks for this one. It's a reveal that was quite a long time in the making, but I hope it paid off in the end.**

 **I thank Fox McCloude and StormEyeDragons for their reviews, though, just to make it clear, this explanation for what Oak and Hastings did was not only already submitted to Crossoverpairinglover, it was also accepted and is now fully canon after publication, much like every other sidestory. No Reset entry so far has been non-canon unless explicitly labeled as such or as an omake that isn't confirmed canon.**

 **I'm very happy to have managed to complete this important piece of Reset lore right in time for my second anniversary in the setting, and hope to deliver something even better next year for my third! A great thanks to everyone who helped me, my Reset colleagues, my betas, and all of my friends, and I really hope you enjoyed this little jaunt. I'll make sure to continue to produce as many good stories as I can in the meantime, and hope you'll always have fun reading them!**

 **Before finishing this, though, I had two little omakes to share, an ambigously canon one by me starring the grandfather of a certain character that I introduced one year ago that was meant to be in the main story until it was cut to focus on the important parts, and an explicitly non-canon but humorous one by Ander Arias as a response to a discussion we had about this story. Hope you'll enjoy them!**

* * *

 **Omake #1: Viroro-kun**

Samuel sighed, sitting on the green grass just outside of New Bark Town, his starter Charmeleon joining him in his dissatisfaction. He expected that their small sidetrip to Johto could've been a good way to relax, and the first thing that happened was finding his rival Agatha and her little brother going the same way in Tohjo Falls. One thing led to another, and she goaded him into proving he was stronger than her.

She then crushed him thoroughly, then left while laughing at him and Charmeleon. In their defense, they were quite prepared for a fight and knew what Agatha could've used against him, but she still managed to surprise him by using his own tactics against him.

"Maybe we should look for some new Pokémon for our team," Samuel mused. Charmeleon gave a nod at that suggestion.

Before they could choose which Pokémon to look for, however, an unknown voice called for the boy.

"Howdy, my friend! Pleasant morning out there, isn't it?"

Samuel turned around, and his eyes widened at who was behind him: a man in his late twenties, wearing several layers of elegant and extremely dapper clothing complete of top hat and a monocle. He was pouring some tea in a cup straight from the teapot as he walked towards the kid, like that was the most normal thing of the world.

The trainer and his starter quickly traded a glance before they faced the man again. "Uhm... I guess?"

The strange, finely dressed man just laughed, taking a sip of his tea and then putting it back, all while never stopping pouring it.

"Truly, this is the most wondrous and outstanding meeting of all!" He emphasized his words by dragging the teacup up, uncaring of the spilled drink, until he pointed his finger right at Sam. "For you, my dear friend, have been blessed with the privilege to meet me, the Dude!"

Samuel blinked in confusion. "The Dude?"

"An excellent question, most certaintly. One that deserves a fitting answer." The Dude held the teacup high, pouring some more tea in it as he spoke and getting a nice shower as a result. "I'm the most splendid and handsomely dressed fellow in all of the known regions, the prestigious heir of the ancient tradition of the Dudes, keeper of the lost art of Pokémon capture! Only a few can master it, and even fewer can instruct others on it!"

The man pointed the boiler at Samuel, his expression serious. "You, boy! Do you yearn for glory? Do you want to grasp the sun and use it to shine a path to victory and eternal fame? To toss your legend skyward, higher than ever before, in the cosmos where only true stars burned their stories for the remembrance of eternity?"

"I... suppose so?" Samuel scratched his neck, an eyebrow quirked. "You teach people how to catch Pokémon, pretty much?"

"That is but a gross oversimplification, my dear boy. I am a master of life, fashion, capture, and philosophy both, for capturing Pokémon is like caressing a lover, an act for which passion and finesse is as important as the act itself." The man shook his head as he sipped some of his tea, giving an inquisitive stare to the boy. "But I'm afraid there's much you have to fix for yourself. Your wardrobe, for one. Would you really expect Pokémon to be attracted to someone with such a poor taste in clothing?"

Samuel scowled, looking in confusion at his choice of attire. "What does that have to do with capturing Pokémon?"

"To an untrained eye, it might have nothing to do with it, but it's a crucial part of the entire process." The man quickly turned around, spilling tea left and right. "Now come, for I shall instruct you in the art! Follow my steps to your glorious destiny! I shall be your kingmaker, and by the end of our training, you'll be the King of all Dudes!"

And with that, the man turned around and walked away, still sipping his tea like nothing was wrong, still decanting the glory that waited Samuel in his future after following him.

It took Samuel and Charmeleon all of a glance to decide to hightail it and never look back until they reached Cherrygrove City.

* * *

 **Omake #2: Ander Arias**

"It might be. Only one way to find out." Samuel kneeled towards the ground, placing a hand over the grass and pulling at it.

And then fell on his back as a concentrated blast of psychic energy almost hit him. Samuel froze, fear crawling under his skin as he turned his gaze up, Adalbert doing the same at his side.

 _"The fuck you're doing in my house, you assholes!?"_ A high pitched, angry voice yelled inside their heads.

As the Oblivian researcher helped his Kantonian partner up, the two of them noticed a small pink Pokemon floating in front of them. The mythical Pokemon known as Mew.

"It's a Mew..." Hastings said in awe. "And he can talk?"

"I believe he's using telepathy to communicate. He's visibly angry, though I didn't expect him to have such a colorful vocabulary," Oak replied. "Okay, let me handle this." He turned at the pink Pokemon, and started to talk, trying to sound as nonthreatening and amicable as possible. "Hey, I know we just barged in your home, but-"

 _"LIke hell you did,"_ Mew interrupted, as he pulled out what appeared to be a pair of Uzis. _"Say hello to my little friends!"  
_  
Both researchers noticed that they didn't look like normal firearms. They had eyes to the sides, and an ornate piece of cloth attatched to the magazines.

"Amazing! That's a Doublade Unovan Form! I thought they were extinct!" the brown haired professor said, ignoring the impending danger, as he took a step forward to examine the firearm Pokemon.

Hastings then grabbed Oak by the collar of his shirt and ran away while pulling his friend with him.

 _"EAT LEAD, MOTHERFUCKERS!"_ they heard Mew's angry voice shout inside their heads, before the sound of rapid fire gunshots filled the air, and the two reserachers ran for their lives.


End file.
